Shloka 50
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
भारद्वाज: स तान् दृष्टवा शरवर्षाणि वर्षत:
bhāradvājaḥ sa tān dṛṣṭvā śaravarṣāṇi varṣataḥ
Sañjaya said: Seeing those showers of arrows being poured down, Bhāradvāja (Droṇa’s son) beheld the onslaught and the scene of relentless violence unfolding before him—an image of war’s unchecked fury and the moral darkness that follows when wrath governs action.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war escalates through reciprocal violence: the ‘rain of arrows’ symbolizes uncontrolled wrath and the ethical collapse that follows when vengeance replaces restraint.
Sañjaya narrates that Bhāradvāja—i.e., Aśvatthāmā—sees the ongoing showers of arrows being discharged, marking an intense phase of combat and the mounting ferocity of the episode.