Shloka 23
अश्मवर्ष स तं॑ घोरं शरवर्षेण वीर्यवान् । दिक्षु विध्वेंसयामास तदद्भुतमिवा भवत्,पिनाकै: करवालैक्षू तोमरप्रासकम्पनै: । नाराचैनिशि तैर्भल्लै: शरैश्षक्रै: परश्वघै: । अयोगुडैर्भिन्दिपालैगोशीषोलूखलैरपि भारत! तत्पश्चात् वे एक-दूसरेपर नाना प्रकारके अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंकी वर्षा करने लगे। लोहेके परिघ, शूल, गदा, मुसल, मुद्गर, पिनाक, खड्ग, तोमर, प्रास, कम्पन, तीखे नाराच, भलल, बाण, चक्र, फरसे, लोहेकी गोली, भिन्दिपाल, गोशीर्ष, उलूखल, बड़ी-बड़ी शाखाओंवाले उखाड़े हुए नाना प्रकारके वृक्ष--शमी, पीलु, कदम्ब, चम्पा, इंगुद, बेर, विकसित कोविदार, पलाश, अरिमेद, बड़े-बड़े पाकड़, बरगद और पीपल--इन सबके द्वारा उस महासमरमें वे एक-दूसरेपर चोट करने लगे। नाना प्रकारकी धातुओंसे व्याप्त विशाल पर्वतशिखरोंद्वारा भी वे परस्पर आघात करते थे
sañjaya uvāca |
aśmavarṣaḥ sa taṁ ghoraṁ śaravarṣeṇa vīryavān |
dikṣu vidhvaṁsayām āsa tad adbhutam ivābhavat ||
pinākaiḥ karavālaiś ca tomaraprāsakampanaiḥ |
nārācai niśitaiḥ bhallaiḥ śaraiḥ śakraiḥ paraśvadhaiḥ |
ayoguḍair bhindipālair gośīrṣolūkhalair api ||
Sañjaya said: The mighty warrior shattered that dreadful hail of stones with a counter‑shower of arrows, scattering it in all directions—an astonishing sight. Then they began to rain upon one another a bewildering variety of weapons: bows, swords, javelins, spears, and heavy missiles; razor‑sharp nārācas, bhallas, arrows, discus‑like weapons, and axes; iron pellets, bhindipālas, gośīrṣa missiles, and even mortar‑like projectiles. Thus, in that great battle, the combatants struck each other with every kind of arm, displaying the terrible momentum of war where prowess overwhelms restraint and the field becomes a theatre of relentless violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, once war escalates, ingenuity and strength can eclipse restraint: even extraordinary skill (countering a stone-hail with arrows) serves the machinery of destruction. It implicitly warns that valor without ethical containment turns the battlefield into a spectacle of relentless harm.
Sañjaya describes a fierce exchange in which a terrifying shower of stones is broken apart by a powerful counter‑shower of arrows. After that, the fighters bombard each other with many kinds of weapons—standard arms like swords and spears as well as heavy missiles and improvised projectiles—intensifying the chaos of the battle.