Shloka 22
Droṇa Encircled at Night: Coalition Advance and Battlefield Omens (द्रोणपर्यावरणं रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)
पृथिवीं चान्तरिक्षं च विनादयति शड्खराट् । नूनं व्यसनमापन्ने सुमहत् सव्यसाचिनि
pṛthivīṃ cāntarikṣaṃ ca vinādayati śaṅkharāṭ | nūnaṃ vyasanam āpanne sumahat savyasācini ||
Sañjaya said: “The king of conches is resounding, making both the earth and the mid-air ring. Surely a very great calamity has befallen Arjuna (Savyasācin).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how powerful sounds and battlefield signals are read as moral and strategic indicators: an overwhelming conch-blast is interpreted as a sign that a major reversal or grave danger has arisen for a key warrior, reminding readers that war is shaped not only by weapons but also by perception, morale, and ominous portents.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that an extraordinary conch is blaring so loudly it seems to fill earth and sky; from this, he infers that Arjuna—central to the Pāṇḍava cause—has encountered a severe crisis on the battlefield.