Shloka 39
धूल मेघोंकी घटा-सी छा गयी। उसमें अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंकी चमक बिजलीकी प्रभाके समान व्याप्त हो रही थी, धनुषोंकी टंकारध्वनि अत्यन्त भयंकर प्रतीत होने लगी ।। बाणशड्खप्रणादाश्न भेरीणां च महास्वना: । रथघोषश्न संजज्ञे सेनयोरुभयोरपि,बाणों, शंखों तथा भेरियोंके सम्मिलित शब्द जोर-जोरसे सुनायी देने लगे। साथ ही दोनों सेनाओंमें रथोंकी घरघराहट भी दूरतक फैलने लगी
bāṇaśaṅkhapraṇādāś ca bherīṇāṃ ca mahāsvanāḥ | rathaghoṣaś ca saṃjajñe senayor ubhayor api ||
Sañjaya said: The roar of arrows and conches, and the great booming of kettle-drums, rose up together; and the rumbling din of chariots also arose in both armies. The battlefield was being swallowed by dust like a mass of clouds, while the flash of weapons spread through it like lightning—an ominous prelude to the violence about to unfold.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than doctrinal: it highlights how collective violence gathers momentum through signals, instruments, and weaponry. Ethically, it frames war as an overwhelming force—audible and inescapable—reminding the listener that once conflict is unleashed, it engulfs all sides alike.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battle has fully surged: arrows hiss, conches blare, drums thunder, and chariots rumble across both armies. The scene conveys the immediate escalation into large-scale combat.