Shloka 4
अलम्बुस-वधः
The Neutralization of Alambusa
मृदज्भा झर्झरा भेरय: पणवानकगोमुखा: । आडब्बराश्न शड्खाश्न दुन्दुभ्यश्ष महास्वना:,भारत! सुशिक्षित एवं कुशल वादक अत्यन्त हर्षमें भरकर मृदंग, झाँझ, भेरी, पणव, आनक, गोमुख, आउडम्बर, शंख और बड़े जोरसे बजनेवाली दुन्दुभियाँ तथा दूसरे प्रकारके वाद्योंको भी बजाने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | mṛdaṅgā jharjharā bheryaḥ paṇavānakagomukhāḥ | āḍambarāś ca śaṅkhāś ca dundubhyaś ca mahāsvanāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Skilled musicians, filled with exhilaration, began to sound the mṛdaṅga drums, jharjharā cymbals, bhērī kettledrums, paṇava and ānaka drums, the gomukha horn, the āḍambara instrument, conch-shells, and great, thunder-voiced dundubhi war-drums. The swelling music marks the army’s rising ardor and the deliberate intensification of the war’s atmosphere, where collective emotion is stirred and directed toward battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how sound and spectacle can mobilize collective feeling—here, joy and excitement are harnessed to intensify the momentum toward battle. It implicitly cautions that enthusiasm, when yoked to war, can amplify conflict even without explicit moral reflection.
Sañjaya describes musicians and attendants sounding many kinds of drums, horns, and conches at great volume. The scene functions as a martial prelude, signaling heightened readiness and the swelling energy of the forces on the battlefield.