Shloka 4

भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ९६: सौभद्रस्य आक्रमणम्, अलम्बुसस्य प्रतिविधानम्

Abhimanyu’s assault; Alambusa’s counter-engagement

Devanagari script

अथैनं शरवर्षेण समन्तात्‌ पर्यवाकिरन्‌ । पर्वतं वारिधाराभि: शरदीव बलाहका:

Transliteration

athainaṁ śaravarṣeṇa samantāt paryavākiran | parvataṁ vāridhārābhiḥ śaradīva balāhakāḥ ||

Translation

ನಂತರ ಅವರು ಎಲ್ಲ ದಿಕ್ಕುಗಳಿಂದಲೂ ಅವನ ಮೇಲೆ ಬಾಣವೃಷ್ಟಿಯನ್ನು ಸುರಿಸಿ, ಅವನನ್ನು ಸುತ್ತುವರಿದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಬಿಟ್ಟರು—ಶರದೃತುವಿನ ಮೇಘಗಳು ಜಲಧಾರೆಗಳಿಂದ ಪರ್ವತವನ್ನು ನೆನೆಸುವಂತೆ।

Word by Word

अथthen

एनम्him

शरवर्षेणwith a shower of arrows

समन्तात्on all sides

पर्यवाकिरन्they completely covered/surrounded (by scattering)

पर्वतम्a mountain

वारिधाराभिःwith streams of water

शरदिin autumn

इवlike/as

बलाहकाःclouds

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

arrows (śara)

mountain (parvata)

clouds (balāhaka)

autumn season (śarad)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh reality of war: an individual can be engulfed by collective aggression like a natural deluge. Ethically, it invites reflection on the dehumanizing momentum of conflict and the need for steadiness and discernment amid overwhelming pressure.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior being attacked from all directions with a dense barrage of arrows, using the vivid comparison of rain clouds in autumn pouring water over a mountain.