Shloka 27
अध्याय ५३ — रणमेघोपमा सेना-वर्णना तथा सुषेण-वधोत्तर प्रतिक्रिया
Battle-as-Storm Imagery and the Aftermath of Suṣeṇa’s Fall
स विद्धलितसर्वाड़: प्रचचाल रथोत्तमे | भूमिकम्पे यथा वृक्षश्नचाल कम्पितो भूशम्,इससे सुकेतुका सारा शरीर विह्नल होकर उस उत्तम रथपर काँपने लगा; मानो भूकम्प आनेपर कोई वृक्ष जोर-जोरसे काँपने और झूमने लगा हो
sa viddhalita-sarvāṅgaḥ pracacāla rathottame | bhūmikampe yathā vṛkṣaś cacāla kampito bhṛśam ||
Sañjaya said: Struck and shaken in every limb, he began to tremble upon that excellent chariot—like a tree that quivers violently and sways when the earth is shaken by an earthquake. The image underscores how, amid the fury of battle, even a warrior’s bodily steadiness can be broken, revealing the crushing force of fate and combat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of bodily composure in war: even the strong can be physically overwhelmed. Ethically, it reminds the listener that battlefield glory is inseparable from suffering and the destabilizing power of violence and fate.
Sañjaya describes a warrior (referred to as “he”) whose entire body becomes unsteady; he trembles on his chariot. The scene is intensified through a simile: he shakes like a tree violently swaying during an earthquake.