Shloka 21
भीष्मवधोपाय-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into the means to overcome Bhīṣma) | Chapter 103
तेन विद्राव्यमाणानि तव सैन्यानि संयुगे । चक्कुरार्तस्वनं घोरं पर्जन्यनिनदोपमम्,उसके द्वारा युद्धमें खदेड़े हुए आपके सैनिक मेघोंकी गर्जनाके समान घोर आर्तनाद करने लगे
tena vidrāvyamāṇāni tava sainyāni saṁyuge | cakrur ārta-svanaṁ ghoraṁ parjanya-ninada-upamam ||
Sañjaya said: Driven into flight by him in the thick of battle, your troops raised a dreadful cry of distress—like the thunderous roar of rain-bearing clouds—signaling fear, disorder, and the moral pressure that war’s violence brings upon an army when its resolve breaks.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly martial confidence can collapse into panic when an army is overpowered; it implicitly warns that adharma-driven aggression and attachment to victory can culminate in fear, disorder, and suffering on the battlefield.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava troops, being driven back by a powerful warrior, cry out in anguish with a sound compared to thunder—an image conveying the scale of their distress and the chaos of their retreat.