Shloka 253
भीमसेन-धृष्टद्युम्नयोर्वाक्यं
Bhīmasena and Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s Speeches on Kṣātra-Dharma
व्यधमत् सुमहातेजा महाभ्राणीव मारुत: । जैसे वायु बड़े-बड़े बादलोंको छिलन्न-भिन्न कर देती है, उसी प्रकार व्यथारहित इन्द्रियोंवाले महातेजस्वी द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाने कुपित हो दिव्यास्त्रोंद्वारा अभिमन्त्रित भयंकर बाणोंसे अपने ऊपर पड़ती हुई उस अत्यन्त दुः:सह, अनुपम एवं वज्रपातके समान शब्द करनेवाली अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंकी वर्षाको नष्ट कर दिया
vyadhamat sumahātejā mahābhrāṇīva mārutaḥ |
Sañjaya said: The exceedingly radiant one shattered it—like the wind tearing apart great masses of cloud. In the same way, Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāmā, his senses steady and unshaken though inflamed with wrath, used divinely empowered missiles to break and disperse the dreadful shower of weapons falling upon him—an unbearable, unparalleled barrage that crashed with a sound like a thunderbolt. The scene underscores how disciplined control of one’s faculties can coexist with fierce resolve in war, even as such power intensifies the moral weight of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ideal of steadiness of the senses (indriya-nigraha) even amid rage and mortal danger. Yet it also implicitly raises the ethical gravity of wielding divinely empowered force: mastery and power in war do not erase responsibility for the destruction they cause.
Aśvatthāmā, attacked by an overwhelming barrage of weapons, counters with divinely invoked missiles and shatters the incoming ‘rain’ of arms. The simile compares his action to the wind ripping apart massive clouds.