Shloka 19
तस्यास्यतस्तानभिनिध्नतश्ष ज्याबाणहस्तस्य धनुःस्वनेन । साद्रिद्रुमा स्यात् पृथिवी विशीर्णे- त्यतीव मत्वा जनता व्यषीदत्
tasyāsyatas tān abhinighnataś ca jyā-bāṇa-hastasya dhanuḥ-svanena | sādridrumā syāt pṛthivī viśīrṇeti atīva matvā janatā vyaṣīdat ||
संजय बोले—वह बाण चलाता और शत्रुओं का संहार करता जा रहा था; उसके हाथ में प्रत्यंचा और बाण सदा सन्नद्ध थे। उसके धनुष की टंकार सुनकर लोग यह मान बैठे कि पर्वतों और वृक्षों सहित यह पृथ्वी फट जाएगी; इसलिए सब अत्यन्त विषाद में डूब गए।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked martial power and the spectacle of violence can crush collective morale: fear spreads not only through physical harm but through the perceived inevitability of destruction. Ethically, it points to war’s capacity to overwhelm society with despair, even before outcomes are decided.
Sañjaya describes Karna relentlessly shooting and killing opponents. The loud twang of Karna’s bow is portrayed as so terrifying that onlookers imagine the earth itself—mountains and trees included—might split apart, and the people fall into deep dejection.