Shloka 30
Bhīṣma-nipāta-saṃvāda — Sañjaya’s Report of Bhīṣma’s Fall (भीष्मनिपातसंवादः)
गदासिमकरावासं हयावर्त गजाकुलम् | पदातिमत्स्यकलिलं शड्खदुन्दुभिनि:स्वनम्
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | gadāsimakarāvāsaṃ hayāvarta-gajākulam | padāti-matsya-kalilaṃ śaṅkha-dundubhi-niḥsvanam ||
ସେଠାରେ ଗଦା ଓ ଖଡ୍ଗ ମକର ପରି ଥିଲା; ଅଶ୍ୱରୂପ ଭଁବର ତାକୁ ଭୟଙ୍କର କରୁଥିଲା; ହାତୀମାନେ ଜଳହସ୍ତୀ ପରି ଉମ୍ମାତ ହୋଇଥିଲେ; ପଦାତି ସେନା ଘନ ମତ୍ସ୍ୟଦଳ ପରି ଲାଗୁଥିଲା; ଏବଂ ଶଙ୍ଖ-ଦୁନ୍ଦୁଭିର ଧ୍ୱନି ହିଁ ସେ ସମୁଦ୍ରର ଗର୍ଜନ ଥିଲା।
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not give a direct moral injunction; it intensifies the ethical gravity of war by portraying the battlefield as a perilous ocean. The imagery underscores how weapons and armies become forces of destruction, inviting reflection on the cost of adharma-driven conflict and the fearful momentum of violence once unleashed.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing Sañjaya’s account, describes (or echoes the description of) the Kurukṣetra scene through a sustained ocean-simile: weapons are sea-monsters, cavalry are whirlpools, elephants are aquatic giants, infantry are shoals of fish, and the conches and drums form the ocean’s roar—conveying the vast, chaotic, and terrifying onset of battle.