Shloka 203
उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations
खुरशब्दनिपातैश्न तुमुल: सर्वतो5भवत् । राजेन्द्र! तदनन्तर सारी सेनाओंमें रणभेरीकी भारी आवाज, मृदंगोंकी ध्वनि, हाथियोंके चिग्घाड़ने, घोड़ोंके हिनहिनाने और धरतीपर उनकी टाप पड़नेसे चारों ओर अत्यन्त भयंकर शब्द गूँजने लगा
khuraśabdanipātaiś ca tumulaḥ sarvato 'bhavat | rājendra! tad-anantaraṃ sarī-senāsu raṇabherīṇāṃ bhārī nādaḥ, mṛdaṅgānāṃ dhvaniḥ, hastināṃ cighghāṭanam, aśvānāṃ hinhinānam, pṛthivyāṃ ca teṣāṃ ṭāpa-patanena caturdiśam atyanta-bhayaṅkaraḥ śabdaḥ pratidhvanitum ārabdhaḥ ||
サञ्जयは言った。「王の中の王よ、そのとき馬の蹄が地を打つや、四方にどよめきが起こった。ついで諸軍のあいだに、戦鼓と大太鼓の重い轟き、ムリダンガ（mṛdaṅga）の連打、象の喇叭、馬の嘶き、そして蹄の響きが重なり合い、あらゆる方角へ恐るべき咆哮となって鳴り渡った。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral gravity and collective momentum of war: once armies move, violence becomes a self-amplifying force, signaled by overwhelming sound. It implicitly warns that adharma-driven conflict quickly grows beyond individual control, engulfing all directions and minds.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that after the armies surge forward, the battlefield erupts in a terrifying cacophony—war-drums, mṛdaṅgas, elephants’ trumpeting, horses’ neighing, and the pounding of hooves—creating a tumult heard everywhere.