Shloka 32
Śānti Parva, Adhyāya 52 — Bhīṣma’s Humility Before Kṛṣṇa and the Granting of Boons
ययौ रथानां पुरतो हि सा चमू- स्तथैव पश्चादतिमात्रसारिणी | पुरश्न पश्चाच्च यथा महानदी तमृक्षवन्तं गिरिमेत्य नर्मदा,सुवर्णनिर्मित विचित्र कूबरोंवाले रथों, पर्वताकार मतवाले हाथियों, गरुड़के समान तीव्रगतिसे चलनेवाले घोड़ों तथा हाथमें धुनष-बाण आदि लिये हुए पैदल सैनिकोंसे युक्त वह विशाल सेना रथोंके आगे और पीछे भी बहुत दूरतक फैलकर वैसी ही शोभा पाने लगी, जैसे ऋक्षवान् पर्वतके पास पहुँचकर पूर्व और पश्चिम दिशामें भी प्रवाहित होनेवाली महानदी नर्मदा सुशोभित होती है
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yayau rathānāṃ purato hi sā camūs tathaiva paścād atimātrasāriṇī | puraś ca paścāc ca yathā mahānadī tam ṛkṣavantaṃ girim etya narmadā ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: Aquele vasto exército avançou, estendendo-se muito longe à frente dos carros e, do mesmo modo, muito longe atrás deles. Espalhado na dianteira e na retaguarda, parecia esplêndido — como o grande rio Narmadā que, ao alcançar o monte Ṛkṣavat, corre amplo e belo ao longo de seus trechos anterior e posterior.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the awe-inspiring scale and ordered spread of military power, while the river simile subtly frames such power within a larger moral and natural order: force and grandeur should be restrained and directed by dharma, not by pride or cruelty.
The narrator describes a massive army on the march, extending far ahead of and behind the chariots. Its breadth and flowing movement are compared to the Narmadā river near Mount Ṛkṣavat, emphasizing the host’s vast, continuous, river-like expanse.