Shloka 55

Devanagari script

तत: क्षणेन क्षितिपा: क्षतजप्रतिमेक्षणा: । कर्ण ववर्षुर्बाणौचैर्यथा मेघा महीधरम्‌,यह देख पांचालनरेशोंके नेत्र रोषसे लाल हो गये। जैसे बादल पर्वतपर पानी बरसाते हैं, उसी प्रकार वे क्षणभरमें कर्णपर बाणसमूहोंकी वर्षा करने लगे

Transliteration

tataḥ kṣaṇena kṣitipāḥ kṣatajapratimekṣaṇāḥ | karṇaṁ vavarṣur bāṇaughair yathā meghā mahīdharam ||

Translation

Санджая сказал: И тотчас, в одно мгновение, цари — с глазами, налитыми кровью от ярости, — обрушили на Карну град стрел, словно тучи, несущие дождь, проливают воду на гору.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

क्षणेनin a moment

क्षितिपाःkings

क्षतज-प्रतिम-ईक्षणाःhaving eyes like blood (blood-red-eyed)

कर्णम्Karna

ववर्षुःrained down, showered

बाण-ओघैःwith floods/masses of arrows

यथाas, just as

मेघाःclouds

महीधरम्mountain

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Karna

Panchala kings (implied by context)

arrows

clouds

mountain

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how wrath can rapidly intensify conflict: many rulers, driven by anger, unite to unleash disproportionate force. It implicitly cautions that krodha in war eclipses restraint and turns combat into a storm of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the Panchala-aligned kings, their eyes reddened with rage, suddenly showering Karṇa with dense volleys of arrows—likened to clouds raining upon a mountain.