Shloka 7
Adhyāya 74 (Book 6, Bhīṣma-parva): Bhīma–Duryodhana re-engagement and afternoon escalation
चण्डवातो यथा मेघ: सविद्युत्स्तनयित्नुमान् । दिश: सम्प्लावयन् सर्वा: शरवर्ष: समनन््तत:ः
caṇḍavāto yathā meghaḥ savidyut-stanayitnumān | diśaḥ samplāvayan sarvāḥ śaravarṣaḥ samanantataḥ ||
संजय म्हणाला—जसा प्रचंड वारा विजा चमकणाऱ्या, गडगडणाऱ्या मेघाला हाकलून नेतो, तशीच अंतहीन भासणारी बाणांची वृष्टी सर्व दिशांना जलमय करीत उसळून आली; युद्धाचा तो वादळवेग कोणालाही न सुटणारा होता।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war by portraying its violence as a natural catastrophe: once unleashed, it spreads indiscriminately in all directions. The imagery cautions that martial power, like a storm, can overwhelm boundaries and restraint, reminding listeners of the need for dharmic control and responsibility in conflict.
Sañjaya narrates the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing an unceasing, all-encompassing barrage of arrows. He compares it to a storm-cloud driven by fierce winds, with lightning and thunder, to convey the intensity and inescapability of the fighting.