Shloka 35
अध्याय ५३ — रणमेघोपमा सेना-वर्णना तथा सुषेण-वधोत्तर प्रतिक्रिया
Battle-as-Storm Imagery and the Aftermath of Suṣeṇa’s Fall
सरथश्छादितो राजन् धृष्टद्युम्नो न दृश्यते । मेघैरिव परिच्छन्नो भास्करो जलधारिभि:,राजन! जैसे जलकी धारा गिरानेवाले मेघोंसे आच्छन्न हुए सूर्यका दर्शन नहीं होता, उसी प्रकार कृतवर्मके बाणोंसे रथसहित आच्छादित हुए धृष्टद्युम्न दिखायी नहीं देते थे
sarathaś chādito rājan dhṛṣṭadyumno na dṛśyate | meghair iva paricchanno bhāskaro jaladhāribhiḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: “Ó rei, Dhṛṣṭadyumna já não pode ser visto — sua carruagem e tudo o mais foram encobertos. Assim como o sol se torna invisível quando velado por nuvens carregadas de chuva, do mesmo modo Dhṛṣṭadyumna desapareceu da vista, envolto pelas flechas de Kṛtavarman.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming force and circumstance can obscure even a prominent warrior, using a natural simile (sun hidden by rain-clouds) to show that visibility, reputation, and apparent dominance in war are fragile and can be suddenly eclipsed.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Dhṛṣṭadyumna has become impossible to see on the battlefield because his chariot is completely shrouded by a dense shower of arrows shot by Kṛtavarman, like the sun disappearing behind rain-laden clouds.