Shloka 9
Gadā-yuddhe Bhīma–Duryodhanayoḥ Tumulaḥ Saṃprahāraḥ
Mace-duel’s intense exchange
महास्वना: सनिर्घातास्तुमुला लोमहर्षणा: । पेतुस्तथोल्का: शतश: स्फोटयन्त्यो नभस्तलात्
sañjaya uvāca |
mahāsvanāḥ sanirghātās tumulā lomaharṣaṇāḥ |
petus tatholkāḥ śataśaḥ sphoṭayantyo nabhastalāt ||
महास्वना: सनिर्घातास्तुमुला लोमहर्षणा: । पेतुस्तथोल्का: शतश: स्फोटयन्त्यो नभस्तलात् ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata motif that mass violence and the rise of adharma are mirrored by disturbances in nature. Such portents function as ethical warnings: when human conduct collapses into ruthless destruction, the cosmos is portrayed as reacting with fearsome signs.
Sañjaya reports terrifying battlefield omens: thunderous crashes and hundreds of meteors falling and bursting from the sky. These signs foreshadow escalating calamity in the Kurukṣetra war and heighten the sense of impending catastrophe.