Shloka 13
आत्मदोष-उपदेशः तथा भीम-धृष्टद्युम्नयोः संयोगः
Self-Causation Counsel and the Bhīma–Dhṛṣṭadyumna Convergence
तस्मिन् महाभये घोरे तुमुले लोमहर्षणे । ववृषु: शरवर्षाणि क्षत्रिया युद्धदुर्मदा:,उस महान् भयदायक, घोर, रोमांचकारी एवं तुमुल संग्राममें रणदुर्मद क्षत्रिय बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगे
tasmin mahābhaye ghore tumule lomaharṣaṇe | vavṛṣuḥ śaravarṣāṇi kṣatriyā yuddhadurmadāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In that dreadful, overwhelming, hair-raising terror of battle, the kṣatriya warriors—intoxicated with the frenzy of war—poured down showers of arrows. The verse underscores how, when fear and martial pride surge together, combatants intensify violence rather than restrain it, revealing the ethical peril of wrath and battle-madness even within a dharma-framed war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral danger within warfare: when warriors become 'yuddha-durmadāḥ' (battle-intoxicated), fear and pride can amplify cruelty. Even in a dharma-context, inner restraint and clarity are ethically crucial; otherwise, the battlefield becomes driven by frenzy rather than duty.
Sañjaya describes the Kurukṣetra fighting at a moment of extreme terror and tumult. The kṣatriya combatants respond by unleashing intense volleys—'showers of arrows'—as the battle escalates in noise, fear, and ferocity.