Shloka 5
Śalya–Bhīma Gadāyuddham (मद्रराज-भीमसेन गदायुद्धम्)
नानद्यमान: पर्जन्य: प्रवृद्ध: शुचिसंक्षये । अश्मवर्षमिवावर्षत् परेषामावहद् भयम्,आषाढ़ मास बीत जानेपर वर्षके प्रारम्भमें जैसे मेघ अत्यन्त गर्जन-तर्जनके साथ फैलकर आकाशमें छा जाता और पत्थरोंकी वर्षा करने लगता है, उसी प्रकार द्रोणाचार्य भी बाणोंकी वर्षा करके शत्रुओंके मनमें भय उत्पन्न करने लगे
sañjaya uvāca |
nānadyamānaḥ parjanyaḥ pravṛddhaḥ śuci-saṃkṣaye |
aśma-varṣam ivāvarṣat pareṣām āvahat bhayam ||
नानद्यमानः पर्जन्यः प्रवृद्धः शुचिसंक्षये । अश्मवर्षमिवावर्षत् परेषामावहद् भयम् ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear and intimidation function as real forces in war: overwhelming, relentless attack can break an opponent’s resolve. Ethically, it points to the grim reality that warfare targets not only bodies but also minds, making terror itself a strategic instrument.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene using a powerful simile: like a thunderous monsoon cloud at summer’s end that seems to rain stones, the warrior (contextually Drona in this episode) unleashes a dense ‘rain’ of missiles, causing panic among the opposing forces.