Shloka 323
Chapter 30: Formation Disruption, Competing War-Cries, and Nīla’s Fall
Droṇa-parva
गाण्डीवस्य तु निर्घोषो व्यतिक्रम्यास्पृशद् दिवम् । शंख और दुन्दुभियोंकी ध्वनि, वाद्योंके शब्द तथा गाण्डीव धनुषके गम्भीर घोष आकाशको लाँघकर स्वर्गतक जा पहुँचे
gāṇḍīvasya tu nirghoṣo vyatikramyāspṛśad divam |
Sañjaya said: The thunderous roar of the Gāṇḍīva bow rose beyond all bounds and seemed to touch the very heavens. In the moral atmosphere of the war, this overwhelming sound functions as a public sign of Arjuna’s awakened resolve—an announcement that a decisive, duty-bound engagement is underway, shaking the world like a proclamation of fate.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a warrior’s dharma-driven resolve becomes unmistakable and publicly manifest. The ‘heaven-reaching’ roar symbolizes the moral weight and inevitability of action once duty is embraced—courage and responsibility are not private feelings but forces that shape the world.
Sañjaya describes the immense, reverberating sound of Arjuna’s bow, Gāṇḍīva, as it is drawn and used in battle. The sound is portrayed as so powerful that it seems to cross the sky and reach the celestial realm, intensifying the scene’s grandeur and foretelling fierce combat.