Shloka 183
Sātyaki-praveśaḥ and Duryodhana-saṃnipātaḥ
Sātyaki’s passage and Duryodhana’s mass engagement
आशीविषविदष्टानां सर्पाणामिव भारत । भरतनन्दन! नाराचोंसे अत्यन्त विद्ध हुए बाणोंका स्वरूप विषधर नागोंके डँसे हुए सर्पोंके समान जान पड़ता था
āśīviṣa-vidaṣṭānāṃ sarpāṇām iva bhārata | bharata-nandana nārācaiḥ atyantaṃ viddhānāṃ bāṇānāṃ svarūpaṃ viṣadhara-nāgair daṣṭānāṃ sarpāṇāṃ samānaṃ jānīyate |
サンジャヤは言った。「おおバーラタよ、バーラタ族の喜びよ。ナーラーチャの矢に貫かれ尽くしたそれらの矢のありさまは、毒蛇に噛まれた蛇のように見えた。戦の激怒のただ中で、武器そのものが毒にうなされて身をよじるかのようであり、戦士たちがいかに徹底して圧倒されているかを示していた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the brutal reality of war through a vivid simile: even weapons appear ‘poison-struck,’ conveying how violence multiplies suffering and disorder. It functions as an ethical warning embedded in narrative—war deforms perception and leaves all sides wounded.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: arrows that have been heavily struck by nārāca missiles look like snakes writhing after being bitten by venomous serpents, emphasizing the intensity of the exchange of missiles.