Shloka 10
अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्
Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca
ततस्तु तावकं सैन्यं दीप्तै: शरगभस्तिभि:,प्रलीनमीनमकरं सागराम्भ इवाभवत् | संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! उस समय अर्जुनके द्वारा खींचे जानेवाले गाण्डीव धनुषकी अत्यन्त भयंकर टंकार यमराजकी सुस्पष्ट गर्जना तथा इन्द्रके वज्रकी गड़गड़ाहटके समान जान पड़ती थी। उसे सुनकर आपकी सेना भयसे उद्विग्न हो बड़ी घबराहटमें पड़ गयी। उस समय उसकी दशा प्रलयकालकी आँधीसे क्षोभको प्राप्त एवं उत्ताल तरंगोंसे परिपूर्ण हुए उस महासागरके जलकी-सी हो गयी, जिसमें मछली और मगर आदि जलजन्तु छिप जाते हैं
tatastu tāvakaṃ sainyaṃ dīptaiḥ śaragabhastibhiḥ, pralīnamīnamakaraṃ sāgarāmbha ivābhavat |
Sañjaya said: “Then your army, O King, struck by the blazing rays of Arjuna’s arrows, became like the ocean’s waters in turmoil—where fish and makaras vanish and hide—overwhelmed and driven to confusion by fear.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear and shock can dissolve collective resolve in war: when confronted with overwhelming force, even a large host can lose cohesion, like sea-creatures disappearing in a storm-tossed ocean. It implicitly warns that morale and steadiness are as decisive as numbers.
Sañjaya describes the Kaurava army’s condition under the intense assault of Arjuna’s blazing arrows. The troops become agitated and disordered, compared to ocean waters in upheaval where fish and makaras hide away.