Shloka 49
अध्याय २२ — अमर्याद-युद्धवर्णन
Unrestrained Battle Description and Śakuni’s Rear Assault
शब्दश्न तुमुल: संख्ये शराणां पततामभूत् । महावेणुवनस्येव दह्यमानस्य पर्वते
śabdaś ca tumulaḥ saṅkhye śarāṇāṁ patatām abhūt | mahāveṇuvanasyeva dahyamānasya parvate ||
Sañjaya dijo: «En aquella batalla se alzó un estruendo tumultuoso por las flechas que caían como lluvia—como el chasquido y el resonar que estalla cuando arde en la montaña un gran bosque de bambúes».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers no direct injunction, but its ethical force lies in vivid war-imagery: the din of arrows is compared to a bamboo-forest fire, suggesting how violence, once set in motion, becomes overwhelming and self-propagating, eclipsing calm judgment.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the intensity of the fighting: arrows are falling in such numbers that their collective impact produces a terrifying, echoing roar, likened to the crackle of a vast bamboo-grove burning on a mountain.