Shloka 52
द्रोणेन केकय-चेदि-वीरवधः
Droṇa’s engagements with the Kekayas and Cedis
असंख्येयमपारं च रथोर्मिणमतीव च । उष्णीषकमठं छत्रपताकाफेनमालिनम्,उस समय अर्जुनने उस असंख्य, अपार, दुर्लड्घ्य एवं अक्षोभ्य रण-समुद्रको सीमावर्ती तटप्रान्तके समान होकर अपने बाणोंद्वारा रोक दिया। उस रणसागरमें बाणोंकी तरंगें उठ रही थीं, फहराते हुए ध्वज भौंरोंके समान जान पड़ते थे, हाथी ग्राह थे, पैदल सैनिक मत्स्य और कीचड़के समान प्रतीत होते थे, शंखों और दुन्दुभियोंकी ध्वनि ही उस रणसिन्धुकी गम्भीर गर्जना थी, रथ ऊँची-ऊँची लहरोंके समान जान पड़ते थे, योद्धाओंकी पगड़ी और टोप कछुओंके समान थे, छत्र और पताकाएँ फेनराशि-सी प्रतीत होती थीं तथा मतवाले हाथियोंकी लाशें ऊँचे-ऊँचे शिलाखण्डोंके समान उस सैन्यसागरको व्याप्त किये हुए थीं
asaṅkhyeyam apāraṃ ca rathormiṇam atīva ca | uṣṇīṣakamaṭhaṃ chatrapatākāphenamālinam ||
Sañjaya said: “It was an immeasurable, shoreless battle-ocean, with chariots rising like mighty waves—its surface strewn with helmets and turbans like turtles, and crowned with parasols and banners like foaming crests. In this vision of war, the multitude becomes a turbulent sea: power and pride surge like waves, yet all are subject to being checked and contained by disciplined valor and purpose.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses an extended ocean-metaphor to show how war magnifies human power into a vast, turbulent force—yet that force is still describable, patterned, and ultimately containable. Ethically, it hints at the need for steadiness and disciplined agency amid collective frenzy, and at the fragility of worldly splendor (parasols, banners, headgear) when set upon the ‘sea’ of violence.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield as an immeasurable ocean: chariots are waves, headgear appears like turtles, and parasols and banners resemble foaming crests. It is a poetic visualization of the massed armies and their motion, preparing the listener to grasp the scale and intensity of the ongoing combat in Droṇa Parva.