Shloka 18
तथापरे द्योतमाना ज्योतींषीवामलाम्बरे | प्रादुरासन् महाराज कार्ष्णायसमया गुडा:
tathāpare dyotamānā jyotīṁṣīvāmalāmbare | prādurāsan mahārāja kārṣṇāyasamayā guḍāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “And then, O great king, other forms appeared—gleaming like stars in a spotless sky—dark, iron-hued masses suddenly manifesting. The scene signaled an ominous turn, as if nature itself displayed portents amid the violence of war.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how epic narration uses cosmic imagery and ominous manifestations to frame war as not merely human conflict but a moral and fateful crisis, where signs in nature mirror the gravity of adharma and impending destruction.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that additional phenomena appeared on the battlefield—shining like stars against a clear sky—yet described as dark, iron-like masses, suggesting fearful portents accompanying the events of the war.