Shloka 15
Adhyāya 16: Saṃśaptaka-vrata and the Diversion of Arjuna (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय १६)
भीमकर्णकृपद्रोणद्रौणिपार्षतसात्यकै: । बभासे स रणोद्ेश: कालसूर्य इवोदित:,भीम, कर्ण, कृपाचार्य, द्रोण, अश्वत्थामा, धृष्टद्युम्न तथा सात्यकि आदि वीरोंसे वह रणक्षेत्र ऐसी शोभा पा रहा था, मानो वहाँ प्रलयकालके सूर्यका उदय हुआ हो
bhīmakarṇakṛpadroṇadrauṇipārṣatasātyakaiḥ | babhāse sa raṇoddeśaḥ kālasūrya ivoditaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: That sector of the battlefield shone with dread splendor, crowded by Bhīma, Karṇa, Kṛpa, Droṇa, Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāmā), Pārṣata (Dhṛṣṭadyumna), and Sātyaki—as if the sun of the final dissolution had risen there. The image underscores how the presence of these foremost warriors turns the field into a scene of overwhelming, fate-laden violence, where human prowess appears to mirror cosmic destruction.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how concentrated martial power can resemble cosmic, indiscriminate destruction: when the greatest warriors converge, the battlefield becomes a space where ethical order (dharma) is tested under the shadow of Kāla (Time/Death). It cautions that prowess without restraint easily turns into a force akin to apocalypse.
Sañjaya describes a particular sector of the Kurukṣetra battlefield where major champions from both sides are present—Bhīma, Karṇa, Kṛpa, Droṇa, Aśvatthāmā, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and Sātyaki—making that area blaze with terrifying brilliance, compared to the rising of the doomsday sun.