Shloka 493
द्रोणपुत्रस्याग्नेयास्त्रप्रयोगः — अर्जुनस्य ब्राह्मास्त्रप्रतिघातः — व्यासोपदेशः
Aśvatthāmā’s Agneyāstra, Arjuna’s Brāhmāstra Counter, and Vyāsa’s Instruction
सव्यसाचिनमासाद्य भिन्ना नौरिव सागरे | “उनके द्वारा तितर-बितर किये हुए हमारे बहुत-से सैन्यदल कहीं भी ठहर नहीं पाते हैं। जैसे हवा घिरे हुए बादलोंको छिलन्न-भिन्न कर देती है, उसी प्रकार अर्जुनके सामने पड़कर अपनी सारी सेना अनेक टुकड़ियोंमें बँ.कर भागने लगी है। उसकी अवस्था समुद्रमें फटी हुई नौकाके समान हो रही है
savyasācinam āsādya bhinnā naur iva sāgare |
सव्यसाचिनमासाद्य भिन्ना नौरिव सागरे । तैर्विकीर्णा हि नः सैन्या न क्वचिदवतिṣ्ठते ॥ वातेनाभ्राणि भग्नानि यथा तद्वद् धनञ्जयम् । अभिमुख्यं समासाद्य सेना नः प्राविभज्यते ॥ सागरे भिन्ननौकेव अवस्था नः प्रजायते ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear and loss of cohesion can collapse even a large force when confronted by exceptional skill and resolve. Ethically, it underscores a recurring Mahābhārata theme: in war, inner steadiness and disciplined order matter as much as numbers; without them, an army becomes like a shattered vessel in a stormy sea.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that when the Kaurava troops meet Arjuna, they cannot hold their ground. They break into scattered groups and flee, and Sañjaya conveys this rout through vivid imagery—clouds torn by wind and a boat split apart in the ocean.