Shloka 23
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ९६: सौभद्रस्य आक्रमणम्, अलम्बुसस्य प्रतिविधानम्
Abhimanyu’s assault; Alambusa’s counter-engagement
सहसा चाभववत् तीव्रं संनिपातान्महद् रज: । गजाश्वरथपत्तीनां पदनेमिसमुद्धतम्
sahasā cābhavattīvraṃ saṃnipātān mahad rajaḥ | gajāśvarathapattīnāṃ padanemisamuddhatam ||
Sañjaya dit : Soudain, du heurt furieux s’éleva un immense nuage de poussière — épais et violent — soulevé par les pas des éléphants, les sabots des chevaux, le roulement des jantes des chars et la marche des fantassins.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a moral-narrative insight: when conflict erupts, it rapidly generates conditions—confusion, obscured vision, loss of discernment—that affect everyone. It implicitly warns that violence does not remain clean or controlled; it spreads disorder and moral haze along with physical dust.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that as the armies close in and collide, a massive dust-cloud suddenly rises, stirred by the trampling of elephants and horses, the movement of chariots, and the marching of infantry—signaling the intensity and scale of the engagement.