Shloka 41
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
शस्त्रैश्न विविधाकारै रथौचैश्व युधिष्ठिर । अभ्यवर्षन्त राजानं हिमवन्तमिवाम्बुदा:
śastraiś ca vividhākāraiḥ rathaughaiś ca yudhiṣṭhira | abhyavarṣanta rājānaṃ himavantam ivāmbudāḥ ||
Bhishma dit : «Ô Yudhiṣṭhira, avec des armes de toutes sortes et des masses de chars, ils accablèrent le roi d’une pluie de traits, comme les nuages de pluie se déversent sur Himavān (l’Himalaya).»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how violence in war can become overwhelming like a force of nature; ethically, it frames the battlefield as a test of steadiness and righteous conduct amid chaos, a recurring concern in Bhīṣma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira.
Bhīṣma describes attackers advancing with many chariots and showering the king with diverse weapons, comparing the barrage of missiles to rain-clouds pouring on the Himalaya.