Shloka 92
अवर्षतां शरवर्ष वृष्टिमन्ताविवाम्बुदौ । अश्वत्थामा और भीमसेन दोनों वीर महान् बलवान् एवं पराक्रमी थे। वे समरभूमिमें वर्षा करनेवाले दो बादलोंके समान परस्पर बाणोंकी बौछार करने लगे ।। भीमनामाड्किता बाणा: स्वर्णपुड्खा: शिलाशिता:
sañjaya uvāca | avarṣatāṃ śaravarṣaṃ vṛṣṭimantāv ivāmbudau | aśvatthāmā ca bhīmasenaś ca vīrau mahābalaparākramau | samare ’nyonyam iṣubhir varṣantāv iva meghau babhūvatuḥ || bhīmanāmāṅkitā bāṇāḥ svarṇapuṅkhāḥ śilāśitāḥ ||
サンジャヤは語った。アシュヴァッターマとビーマセーナ――二人はいずれも勇士にして、力は甚大、武威は烈しかった――雨雲二つが降らすかのように矢の雨を注ぎ出した。戦場において彼らは途切れぬ斉射で互いに応じ、嵐と雷鳴の中で競い合うかのごとくであった。ビーマの名を刻み、金の羽を備え、石で研ぎ澄まされた矢がその激突の中を飛び交う――それは容赦なき戦の技と、戦火とともに硬くなる決意の象徴である。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war amplifies human capacities—courage, skill, and endurance—yet expresses them through destructive force. The cloud-and-rain simile aestheticizes battle while implicitly reminding the listener that prowess (parākrama) is ethically ambivalent: it can be admirable as discipline and resolve, but it also fuels the cycle of harm when yoked to vengeance and rivalry.
Sanjaya describes Ashvatthama and Bhima engaging in a fierce exchange of arrows. They shower each other with volleys like two rain-bearing clouds. The mention of arrows marked with Bhima’s name, with golden fletching and stone-sharpened points, underscores the intensity, preparation, and personal stamp of the combat.