Shloka 52
न प्राकाशन्त वेश्मानि धूमरुद्धानि भारत । नीहारसंवृतानीव वनानि गिरयस्तथा,जनमेजय! ऐरावतके सारे घरमें हाहाकार मच गया। भारत! वासुकि आदि नागोंके घर धूमसे आच्छादित हो गये। उनमें अँधेरा छा गया। वे ऐसे जान पड़ते थे, मानो कुहासासे ढके हुए वन और पर्वत हों
na prākāśanta veśmāni dhūmaruddhāni bhārata | nīhārasaṃvṛtānīva vanāni girayas tathā janamejaya ||
The Horse said: “O Bhārata (descendant of Bharata), the dwellings no longer shone, choked and blocked by smoke. O Janamejaya, they appeared like forests and mountains veiled in mist.” In the narrative context, the verse conveys the overwhelming, suffocating spread of smoke that obscures sight and order, signaling a crisis that disrupts normal life and foreshadows the moral peril of actions that unleash indiscriminate suffering.
अश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how destructive forces can rapidly obscure clarity and stability in society—symbolized by smoke darkening homes—serving as a moral warning about actions that create widespread, indiscriminate harm and confusion.
The speaker (the Horse) describes a scene where smoke has filled and blocked the dwellings so completely that they no longer shine, and everything looks as though forests and mountains are covered by fog; the address to Bhārata and Janamejaya frames it as a reported event within the larger account.