Shloka 396
Śiva’s Battlefield Manifestation and Vyāsa’s Śatarudrīya Exposition (शिवप्रादुर्भावः शतरुद्रीयव्याख्यानम्)
पार्थ सिषिचतुर्बाणैर्गिरिं मेघाविवाम्बुभि: । एक रथपर आरूढ़ हुए पिता और पुत्र दोनों महारथियोंने अर्जुनपर उसी प्रकार बाणोंकी वर्षा आरम्भ कर दी, जैसे दो मेघखण्ड अपने जलसे किसी पर्वतको सींच रहे हों
sañjaya uvāca | pārthaṃ siṣicatur bāṇair giriṃ meghāv ivāmbubhiḥ |
Sañjaya said: The father and the son—both mounted on a single chariot and both great warriors—began to drench Pārtha (Arjuna) with volleys of arrows, just as two masses of cloud water a mountain with their rain. The image underscores how, in the fury of war, kinship and restraint are eclipsed by martial resolve, and Arjuna is made the focal point of concentrated, coordinated violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare can intensify to the point that even familial bonds recede before martial purpose; ethically, it invites reflection on restraint (saṃyama) and the costs of duty-driven violence when combatants focus their power on a single opponent.
Sañjaya describes two allied warriors—father and son—riding together on one chariot and unleashing a heavy, coordinated shower of arrows at Arjuna, compared to two rain-clouds drenching a mountain.