Shloka 19
तस्यास्यतस्तानभिनिध्नतश्ष ज्याबाणहस्तस्य धनुःस्वनेन । साद्रिद्रुमा स्यात् पृथिवी विशीर्णे- त्यतीव मत्वा जनता व्यषीदत्
tasyāsyatas tān abhinighnataś ca jyā-bāṇa-hastasya dhanuḥ-svanena | sādridrumā syāt pṛthivī viśīrṇeti atīva matvā janatā vyaṣīdat ||
サञ्जयは言った。「彼が矢を放ち続け、敵を打ち倒してゆくとき—その手には常に弓弦と矢が備わっていた—弓の轟く弦音は人々を絶望へと沈めた。『山や樹々を抱くこの大地さえ、その音で裂けてしまう』と恐れ、皆は深い憂いに沈んだ。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked martial power and the spectacle of violence can crush collective morale: fear spreads not only through physical harm but through the perceived inevitability of destruction. Ethically, it points to war’s capacity to overwhelm society with despair, even before outcomes are decided.
Sañjaya describes Karna relentlessly shooting and killing opponents. The loud twang of Karna’s bow is portrayed as so terrifying that onlookers imagine the earth itself—mountains and trees included—might split apart, and the people fall into deep dejection.