Shloka 54
Irāvān-nidhana-anantaraṃ Ghaṭotkaca-nādaḥ
After Irāvān’s fall: Ghaṭotkaca’s roar and the clash with Duryodhana
परिवार्यार्जुनं संख्ये तव पुत्रर्महारथ: । शरै: संछादयामास मेघैरिव दिवाकरम्,अनेक राजाओंसे घिरे हुए उस महारथीने आपके पुत्रोंको साथ ले युद्धमें वीर अर्जुनके सामने जाकर उन्हें आगे, पीछे और पार्श्रभाग--सब ओरसे घेर लिया और जैसे बादल सूर्यको ढक लेते हैं, उसी प्रकार बाणोंसे अर्जुनको आच्छादित कर दिया
parivāryārjunaṃ saṅkhye tava putro mahārathaḥ | śaraiḥ saṃchādayāmāsa meghair iva divākaram ||
Sañjaya dit : Au plus fort de la bataille, ton fils—ce grand guerrier de char—encercla Arjuna de toutes parts, puis le couvrit d’une pluie serrée de flèches, comme les nuages voilent le soleil.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the volatility of battlefield fortune: even a celebrated warrior can be temporarily overwhelmed by coordinated force. Ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—martial excellence and tactical success do not by themselves settle the question of dharma; they unfold within a war shaped by duty, loyalty, and contested righteousness.
Sañjaya describes your son, a great chariot-warrior, moving to confront Arjuna and surrounding him in battle, then showering him with arrows so densely that Arjuna is obscured—likened to the sun being hidden by clouds.