Shloka 653
क्रौज्चपृष्ठारुणं रौद्रं बाणजालं व्यदृश्यत । राजेन्द्र! उन दोनोंने आकाशमें बाणोंका भयंकर जाल-सा बिछा दिया, जो क्रौंच पक्षीके पृष्ठभागके समान लाल और भयानक दिखायी देता था
sañjaya uvāca | krauñcapṛṣṭhāruṇaṃ raudraṃ bāṇajālaṃ vyadṛśyata | rājendra! tau dvābhyām ākāśe bāṇānāṃ bhayaṅkaraṃ jālam iva vitatam, yat krauñcapakṣiṇaḥ pṛṣṭhabhāgasadṛśaṃ lohitaṃ raudraṃ ca dṛśyate sma |
Sañjaya dijo: Oh rey, apareció una feroz red de flechas, rojiza como el lomo del ave krauñca. Aquellos dos guerreros tendieron en el cielo una malla terrible de astas, tan densa y ominosa que parecía cubrir el propio aire, intensificando el terror y el ímpetu de la batalla.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily heightens the moral atmosphere of war: when combatants unleash overwhelming force, the battlefield becomes a space where fear and destruction spread rapidly. The poetic simile underscores how violence, once intensified, can seem to blanket the world—inviting reflection on restraint and the grave cost of martial fury.
Sanjaya describes a moment in the battle when two opposing warriors release such a dense volley of arrows that it looks like a net spread across the sky. The arrows appear reddish and terrifying, compared to the red-hued back of a krauñca bird.