Shloka 296

Devanagari script

द्वितीयामिव सम्प्राप्ताममन्यन्त निशां तदा । वहाँ धूलरूपी मेघकी भयंकर एवं घोर घटा घुमड़-घुमड़कर घिर आयी थी, जिससे सब लोगोंको उस समय ऐसा मालूम होता था, मानो दूसरी रात्रि आ पहुँची हो

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | dvitīyām iva samprāptām amanyanta niśāṃ tadā |

Translation

तदा धूलिमयः मेघ इव घोरः सान्द्रश्च तमः समन्तात् समभ्यपतत्। तेन सर्वे जनाः द्वितीयामिव निशाम् आगताम् अमन्यन्त।

Word by Word

द्वितीयाम्a second (one) (fem., acc.)

इवas if, like

सम्प्राप्ताम्having arrived, come upon

अमन्यन्तthey thought, they considered

निशाम्night

तदाthen, at that time

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

night (niśā)

dust-cloud (implied by commentary)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how the chaos of war can eclipse clarity: when dust and terror rise, perception itself is distorted. Ethically, it suggests that adharma-driven violence produces a darkness that confuses judgment and makes the world feel unnaturally inverted.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield becoming so choked with dust that it seemed like night had fallen again. The imagery conveys a sudden, ominous gloom spreading over the combatants and the field.