Shloka 12
अध्याय ५८ — वानरध्वजस्य महेन्द्रास्त्रप्रयोगः
Chapter 58: Arjuna’s Deployment of the Indra-Weapon
ततः प्राध्मापयच्छड्खं भेरीशतनिनादिनम् | प्रचुक्षुभे बल॑ सर्वमुद््भूत इव सागर:,तदनन्तर द्रोणने सौ नगाड़ोंके बराबर आवाज करनेवाले अपने शंखको बजाया। उसे सुनकर सारी सेनामें हलचल मच गयी, मानो समुद्रमें ज्वार आ गया हो
tataḥ prādhmāpayac chaṅkhaṃ bherīśataninādinam | pracukṣubhe balaṃ sarvam udbhūta iva sāgaraḥ ||
Then he blew his conch, whose roar was like the thunder of a hundred kettle-drums. Hearing it, the entire host was thrown into agitation, as if the ocean had suddenly surged in a great swell.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the power of a single decisive signal to move a collective body—awakening courage, fear, and readiness. Ethically, it points to how leaders and symbols can shape the moral and emotional climate before action, for good or ill.
A warrior blows a conch that sounds as loud as a hundred war-drums. The sound spreads through the ranks, and the entire army becomes restless and stirred, compared to the ocean swelling in a sudden surge.