Shloka 5
Lokapāla-samāgamaḥ—Arjuna Receives Astras from the World-Guardians
Book 3, Chapter 42
तथैवाशनयश्वैव चक्रयुक्तास्तुलागुडा: । वायुस्फोटा: सनिर्घाता महामेघस्वनास्तथा,उस रथमें तलवार, भयंकर शक्ति, उग्र गदा, दिव्य प्रभावशाली प्रास, अत्यन्त कान्तिमती विद्युत्ू, अशनि एवं चक्रयुक्त भारी वजनवाले प्रस्तरके गोले रखे हुए थे, जो चलाते समय हवामें सनसनाहट पैदा करते थे। तथा जिनसे वज्रगर्जन और महामेघोंकी गम्भीर ध्वनिके समान शब्द होते थे
tathaivāśanayaś caiva cakrayuktās tulāguḍāḥ | vāyusphoṭāḥ sanirghātā mahāmeghasvanās tathā ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: “Do mesmo modo havia mísseis como o vajra e pesadas bolas de pedra arremessadas por rodas, bem como maças de grande peso; ao serem lançadas, rasgavam o ar com um assobio agudo e atingiam com estrondos como trovões e com um rugido profundo como o de grandes nuvens de tempestade.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than doctrinal: it conveys how the apparatus of war escalates terror and destruction. By comparing weapon-sounds to thunder and storm-clouds, it implicitly warns that violence overwhelms human measure and brings an atmosphere of dread.
Vaiśampāyana is describing formidable weapons—thunderbolt-like missiles and heavy wheel-propelled maces/stone balls—emphasizing their whirring flight and thunderous impact, as part of a larger scene portraying martial preparation or combat intensity.