रथाश्वमातड्रपदातिभिस्तत: परस्परं विप्रहतापतन् क्षितौ । यथा सविद्युत्स्तनिता बलाहका: समाहता दिग्भ्य इवोग्रमारुतै:
rathāśvamātadrapadātibhistataḥ parasparaṃ viprahatāpatann kṣitau | yathā savidyutstanitā balāhakāḥ samāhatā digbhya ivogramārutaiḥ ||
Санджая сказал: Тогда колесничие, всадники и пешие воины, сражаясь в тесной схватке и поражая друг друга, падали на землю. Они рушились, словно грозовые тучи с молниями и громом, согнанные со всех сторон свирепыми ветрами.
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights the catastrophic consequence of mutual aggression: when combatants abandon restraint and strike one another relentlessly, they are brought down indiscriminately. The cloud-and-wind simile suggests forces larger than individual will—momentum, rage, and the collective storm of war—sweeping all into ruin, inviting reflection on the ethical cost of violence.
Sañjaya describes a phase of intense melee where chariot-warriors, cavalry, and infantry clash at close quarters. After exchanging heavy blows, many fall to the ground, and their collapse is compared to thunderclouds driven together from all sides by fierce winds.