Shloka 18
तथापरे द्योतमाना ज्योतींषीवामलाम्बरे | प्रादुरासन् महाराज कार्ष्णायसमया गुडा:
tathāpare dyotamānā jyotīṁṣīvāmalāmbare | prādurāsan mahārāja kārṣṇāyasamayā guḍāḥ ||
サञ्जयは語った。「さらに、大王よ、別のものどもが現れた――汚れなき天に星のようにきらめきつつ、しかし鉄の色を帯びた暗い塊が、忽然と顕れたのだ。その光景は凶なる転機を告げ、まるで自然そのものが戦の暴虐のただ中で兆しを示すかのようであった。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how epic narration uses cosmic imagery and ominous manifestations to frame war as not merely human conflict but a moral and fateful crisis, where signs in nature mirror the gravity of adharma and impending destruction.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that additional phenomena appeared on the battlefield—shining like stars against a clear sky—yet described as dark, iron-like masses, suggesting fearful portents accompanying the events of the war.