Shloka 216
Nakula–Śakuni Duel and the Night Battle; Śikhaṇḍin–Kṛpa Engagement (नकुल-शकुनियुद्धं तथा रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)
शरवर्षाणि घोराणि मेघाविव परस्परम् | भूरिश्रवा और सात्यकि दोनों शत्रुदमन वीरोंने दो मेघोंकी भाँति परस्पर भयंकर बाण- वर्षा प्रारम्भ कर दी
śaravarṣāṇi ghorāṇi meghāv iva parasparam | bhūriśravāś ca sātyakiś ca ubhau śatrudamanau vīrau meghayor iva parasparaṃ bhayaṅkaraṃ bāṇa-varṣaṃ prārabdhavantau ||
Sañjaya said: Like two storm-clouds confronting one another, Bhūriśravas and Sātyaki—both heroes famed for subduing foes—began to pour upon each other a dreadful rain of arrows. The scene underscores how, in the fury of war, valor and enmity mirror each other, and combatants answer violence with violence, escalating the peril on both sides.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial prowess, when driven by hostility, tends to mirror and amplify itself—each side responds in kind, increasing danger. It implicitly cautions that unchecked retaliation escalates suffering, even when framed within kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya describes Bhūriśravas and Sātyaki engaging in intense combat, each unleashing a fierce barrage of arrows at the other, compared to two clouds releasing stormy downpours against one another.