Shloka 75

Devanagari script

ततः सोउस्त्रेण शैलेन्द्रो विक्षिप्तो वै व्यनश्यत । ततः स तोयदो भूत्वा नील: सेन्द्रायुधो दिवि

Transliteration

tataḥ so’streṇa śailendro vikṣipto vai vyanaśyat | tataḥ sa toyado bhūtvā nīlaḥ sendrāyudho divi ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then that mountain-king, struck and hurled away by the weapon, vanished from sight. Thereafter it appeared in the sky as a dark rain-cloud, bearing Indra’s bow (the rainbow)—a portent-like transformation that underscores how, in the fury of war, even mighty, seemingly immovable things are made to yield and assume new forms under irresistible force.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

सःhe

अस्त्रेणby/with a weapon (missile)

शैलेन्द्रःthe lord of mountains (a great mountain)

विक्षिप्तःhaving been hurled/scattered

वैindeed, surely

व्यनश्यतperished, disappeared

ततःthen, thereafter

सःhe

तोयदःa rain-cloud

भूत्वाhaving become

नीलःdark-blue, dark

सेन्द्रायुधःhaving Indra's bow (rainbow), rainbow-bearing

दिविin the sky/heaven

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

śailendra (a great mountain)

astra (weapon/missile)

toyada (rain-cloud)

Indra

Indrāyudha (rainbow)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights impermanence and the overwhelming force unleashed in war: even what seems steadfast (a ‘mountain-king’) can be made to disappear and transform, suggesting that pride in power or stability is fragile amid adharma-driven violence and cosmic-scale conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a great mountain being struck by a weapon and vanishing; it then appears in the sky as a dark rain-cloud with a rainbow, presenting a vivid, portent-like image within the battlefield narration.