Shloka 54
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
सागरा: सरितश्चैव गिरयश्न महाबला: । ददुः सेनागणाध्यक्षान् शूलपट्टिशधारिण:
sāgarāḥ saritaś caiva girayaś ca mahābalāḥ | daduḥ senāgaṇādhyakṣān śūlapaṭṭiśadhāriṇaḥ ||
വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു— സമുദ്രങ്ങളും നദികളും മഹാബലമുള്ള പർവതങ്ങളും പോലും സേനാഗണാധ്യക്ഷന്മാരെ സമർപ്പിച്ചതുപോലെ തോന്നി—ശൂലവും പട്ടിശവും ധരിച്ചവരെ.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses cosmic imagery to underline how war can feel all-encompassing: when adharma-driven violence expands, it seems as if even nature is compelled to furnish weapons and warriors. The ethical undertone is a warning about the magnitude and contagion of conflict.
The narrator describes a surge of martial leadership and armed men—commanders bearing spears and heavy weapons—through a hyperbolic comparison: oceans, rivers, and mountains are said to 'give' them, emphasizing the vastness and inevitability of the battle atmosphere in the Shalya Parva context.