Shloka 56
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya-saṃvādaḥ; madhyāhna-saṅgrāma-pravṛttiḥ
Dhritarashtra–Sanjaya dialogue and the midday battle escalation
कृतवर्मा रणे भीम॑ शरैरार्च्छन्महारथ: । प्रच्छादयामास च तं महामेघो रविं यथा,महारथी कृतवर्माने रणमें भीमसेनको अपने बाणोंसे बहुत पीड़ित किया और महामेघ जैसे सूर्यको ढक लेता है, उसी प्रकार उसने भीमसेनको आच्छादित कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | kṛtavarmā raṇe bhīmaṁ śarair ārcchan mahārathaḥ | pracchādayāmāsa ca taṁ mahāmegho raviṁ yathā ||
Sañjaya said: In the thick of battle, the great chariot-warrior Kṛtavarmā struck Bhīma with a shower of arrows, covering him over—just as a massive cloud veils the sun. The image underscores how, in war, prowess is shown not only by force but by the capacity to overwhelm an opponent’s momentum and visibility, momentarily eclipsing even the mightiest through disciplined martial skill.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of kṣatriya prowess: victory can come through controlled, sustained skill that suppresses an opponent’s initiative—symbolized by the sun being veiled by a cloud—without implying moral superiority, but emphasizing the realities of martial contest.
Sañjaya describes Kṛtavarmā attacking Bhīma intensely with arrows, so densely that Bhīma appears ‘covered’ by them, compared to the sun hidden by a great cloud.