Shloka 9
द्रोणपर्व — द्विनवति-तमोऽध्यायः
Sātyaki Pressed by Kauravas; Duryodhana and Kṛtavarmā Engagements
भूर्दिशश्वान्तरिक्षं च शब्देनासीत् समावृतम् । स मुहूर्त प्रतिभयो दारुण: समपद्यत,हाथियोंके घंटोंकी ध्वनि, शंखनाद, धनुषकी टंकार और गजराजोंके चिग्घाड़नेके शब्दसे पृथ्वी, दिशाएँ तथा आकाश--ये सभी गूँज उठे थे। उस समय दुःशासन दो घड़ीके लिये अत्यन्त भयंकर एवं दारुण हो उठा
bhūr diśaś cāntarikṣaṃ ca śabdenāsīt samāvṛtam | sa muhūrta-pratibhayo dāruṇaḥ samapadyata |
Sañjaya said: The earth, the directions, and the mid-sky were all enveloped by a roaring din. For a brief while the scene turned terrifying—harsh and dreadful—swelling with the sounds of war (bells on elephants, conch-calls, bowstrings, and the trumpeting of great elephants), signaling the moral darkness and escalating fury of the conflict.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses overwhelming sound to portray how war consumes the whole world—earth, directions, and sky—suggesting that violence does not remain local but spreads fear and moral darkness everywhere. It implicitly warns that unchecked rage and adharma amplify suffering beyond the immediate combatants.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield erupting in a tremendous din—elephant bells, conches, bowstrings, and elephant trumpeting—so intense that it seems to cover the earth and sky. The moment becomes especially dreadful, marking a surge in the ferocity of the fighting.