Shloka 15
Parāśara’s Counsel on बुद्धि (Discernment), Karma-Consequences, and Avoidance of Pāpānubandha Actions
शस्त्रैश्व विविधैर्दिव्यै: पावकोल्काभिरेव च । देवासुरैस्तत: सैन्यै: सर्वमासीत् समाकुलम्
śastraiś ca vividhair divyaiḥ pāvakolkābhir eva ca | devāsuraiḥ tataḥ sainyaiḥ sarvam āsīt samākulam ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Então tudo se tornou totalmente confuso e sufocado pelo tumulto—repleto de muitas espécies de armas divinas, de archotes em brasa e dos exércitos de deuses e asuras. Toda a vastidão parecia tomada pelo choque das armas e pelo clarão do fogo.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how warfare—especially when empowered by ‘divine’ means—rapidly becomes all-consuming chaos. Implicitly, it cautions that violence, once unleashed, overwhelms order and discernment, challenging the ethical restraint central to dharma.
Bhīṣma describes a scene of intense battle in which the sky/space is filled with many kinds of weapons, blazing firebrands, and the assembled hosts of devas and asuras, creating a state of total tumult and confusion.