Shloka 183
भीमस्य जलान्वेषणं तथा वनविश्रान्तिः
Bhīma’s Search for Water and the Forest Halt
धनुर्ज्यातलशब्दश्न संस्पृश्य गगनं महान् | द्रपदके भयंकर बाण सब दिशाओंमें विचरने लगे। महाराज! उनकी विजय होती देख पांचालोंके घरोंमें शंख
vaiśampāyana uvāca | dhanurjyāṭalaśabdaś ca saṃspṛśya gaganaṃ mahān | drupadake bhayaṅkarā bāṇāḥ sarvadiśaṃ vicaranāḥ || mahārāja! teṣāṃ vijayaṃ dṛṣṭvā pañcālānāṃ gṛheṣu śaṅkhabherīmṛdaṅgādayaḥ sahasraśo vādyāni yugapat prāduḥśabdam akurvan | mahātmabalasampannāḥ pañcālasainikāḥ siṃhanādaṃ mahāvegena cakruḥ | sahaiva ca teṣāṃ dhanūṃṣi pratyancāṭaṅkāro mahān ākāśe vyāptaḥ pratyanunādayām āsa ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच—धनुर्ज्यातलनिःशब्दो महान् गगनं स्पृशन्निवोत्थितः। भयानका बाणाः सर्वतो विचेरुः। राजन्, तेषां जयमवलोक्य पाञ्चालानां गृहेषु शङ्खभेरीमृदङ्गादीनि सहस्रशो वाद्यानि सहसा समनादयन्। महात्मबलसम्पन्नाः पाञ्चालसैनिकाः सिंहनादं महान्तं चक्रुः; सहैव च धनुर्ज्यानां टङ्कारो गगने व्याप्तो दिगन्तेषु प्रतिननाद।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how collective morale and inner strength (ātmabala) manifest outwardly in disciplined martial readiness and communal celebration. It implicitly contrasts righteous confidence and unity with fear: victory is not only a battlefield outcome but also a social and ethical affirmation that energizes a whole community.
A victorious moment for the Pañcālas is being described: arrows fly, bowstrings thunder, soldiers roar, and the populace celebrates with conches and drums. Vaiśampāyana paints a vivid soundscape of triumph and mobilized force, addressed to the king listening to the epic.