Shloka 41
Rajo-dhūli-saṃmūḍha-saṅgrāmaḥ
The Dust-Obscured Battle and Mutual Charges
ततो भीष्मरथात् तूर्णमुत्पतन्ति पतत्त्रिण: । यैरन्तरिक्षं भूमिश्व सर्वतः समवस्तृता
tato bhīṣma-rathāt tūṛṇam utpatanti patattriṇaḥ | yair antarīkṣaṃ bhūmiś ca sarvataḥ samavastṛtāḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Alors, du char de Bhīṣma, jaillirent aussitôt des traits ailés, volant comme des oiseaux, et l’on eût dit qu’ils couvraient de toutes parts le ciel et la terre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily conveys the epic’s ethical tension of war: extraordinary skill and power can dominate the battlefield, yet such might functions within a larger dharmic tragedy where victory is pursued through destructive means.
Sañjaya describes Bhīṣma releasing a rapid volley of arrows from his chariot; the arrows are poetically compared to birds, and their sheer number makes it seem as though they blanket both sky and earth.