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 ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: Bahkan lautan, sungai-sungai dan gunung-ganang yang perkasa seakan-akan mempersembahkan para ketua bala tentera—orang-orang yang memegang lembing dan senjata berat—seolah-olah kuasa alam sendiri menyerahkan para pahlawan untuk pertembungan yang bakal tiba. Pemandangan ini meninggikan beban moral perang: apabila pertikaian membesar ke skala begini, seakan-akan seluruh dunia turut terseret untuk membekalkan alat dan agen keganasan.
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.