Shloka 22
भीष्मवधोपाय-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into the means to overcome Bhīṣma) | Chapter 103
त॑ श्रुत्वा निनदं घोरं तव सैन्यस्थ भारत । मारुतोद्धूतवेगस्य सागरस्येव पर्वणि
taṁ śrutvā ninadaṁ ghoraṁ tava sainyastha bhārata | mārutoddhūta-vegasya sāgarasyeva parvaṇi ||
Sañjaya berkata: Wahai raja keturunan Bharata, apabila terdengar raungan ngeri itu timbul dalam tenteramu, bunyinya bagaikan deru lautan yang mengganas ketika pasang purnama, tatkala airnya digoncang angin dengan hebat. Pada saat itu Duryodhana, tersentak oleh hiruk-pikuk perang, berbicara kepada Alambusha—rakshasa, putera Ṛśyaśṛṅga—tentang keperkasaan putera Arjuna, menyamakannya dengan Arjuna yang kedua.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a powerful simile to show how collective violence and fear amplify in war: the army’s roar becomes ocean-like when driven by the ‘wind’ of agitation. Ethically, it highlights how conflict magnifies passions (krodha, bhaya, utsāha), often overwhelming discernment and drawing leaders into escalating responses.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that a terrifying uproar rises within the Kaurava forces, likened to the ocean’s thunder at full-moon tide under strong winds. In the immediate narrative flow (as reflected in the accompanying prose), Duryodhana reacts to the battlefield situation and addresses the rakshasa warrior Alambusha, speaking of Arjuna’s son as being as formidable as a ‘second Arjuna.’