Shloka 22
Bhīṣma’s Retrospective of the Jāmadagnya Rāma Encounter
Divyāstra-Pratiyuddha and Twilight Cessation
उल्काश्न शतशः पेतु: सनिर्घाता: सकम्पना: । अर्क च सहसा दीप्तं स्वर्भानुरभिसंवृणोत्,बिजलीकी गड़गड़ाहटके समान सैकड़ों उल्कापात होने लगे। भूकम्प आ गया। अपनी किरणोंसे उद्भासित होनेवाले सूर्यदेवको राहुने सब ओरसे सहसा घेर लिया
ulkāś ca śataśaḥ petuḥ sanirghātāḥ sakampanāḥ | arkaṃ ca sahasā dīptaṃ svarbhānur abhisamvṛṇot ||
ビーシュマは言った。「雷鳴のごとき轟音と震動を伴い、流星が幾百も落ち始めた。大地は揺れ、地震が起こった。そして自らの光で赫々と輝く太陽は、スヴァルバーヌ（ラーフ）に四方から忽ち包み込まれた。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When dharma is about to be violated on a massive scale, the tradition frames nature’s upheavals—meteors, earthquakes, eclipses—as moral-symbolic warnings. The verse underscores that adharma in human action is mirrored by perceived disorder in the cosmos, urging rulers and warriors to recognize consequences and restrain destructive choices.
Bhishma describes terrifying portents: meteors raining down with thunder-like crashes, the earth shaking, and the Sun suddenly being eclipsed by Svarbhanu (Rahu). These signs foreshadow the catastrophic Kurukshetra war and the suffering that will follow.