Shloka 17
शल्य–युधिष्ठिरयुद्धप्रारम्भः
Commencement of the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel
तानापतत एवाशु पूरयाणान् रथस्वनै: । दिशश्व विदिशश्वैव कम्पयानांश्ष मेदिनीम्
tān āpatata evāśu pūrayāṇān rathasvanaiḥ | diśaś ca vidiśaś caiva kampayānāṃś ca medinīm ||
सञ्जय उवाच—तानापतत एवाशु पूरयाणान् रथस्वनैः । दिशश्च विदिशश्चैव कम्पयन्तो महीतलम् ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war’s collective force becomes world-shaking: the roar of chariots and the trembling earth symbolize the magnitude of violence and the destabilization it brings, serving as a sober reminder of the destructive weight of adharma-driven conflict.
Sañjaya describes warriors charging swiftly; their advancing mass fills all directions with the thunder of chariots, and the ground itself seems to quake under their onrush.