Shloka 54
Irāvān-nidhana-anantaraṃ Ghaṭotkaca-nādaḥ
After Irāvān’s fall: Ghaṭotkaca’s roar and the clash with Duryodhana
परिवार्यार्जुनं संख्ये तव पुत्रर्महारथ: । शरै: संछादयामास मेघैरिव दिवाकरम्
parivāryārjunaṃ saṅkhye tava putro mahārathaḥ | śaraiḥ saṃchādayāmāsa meghair iva divākaram ||
சஞ்சயன் கூறினான்—போர்க்களத்தில் உமது மகன், அந்த மகாரதன், அர்ஜுனனை எல்லாத் திசைகளிலும் சூழ்ந்து, மேகங்கள் சூரியனை மறைப்பதுபோல், அம்புகளால் அடர்த்தியாக மூடினான்.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the volatility of battlefield fortune: even a celebrated warrior can be temporarily overwhelmed by coordinated force. Ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—martial excellence and tactical success do not by themselves settle the question of dharma; they unfold within a war shaped by duty, loyalty, and contested righteousness.
Sañjaya describes your son, a great chariot-warrior, moving to confront Arjuna and surrounding him in battle, then showering him with arrows so densely that Arjuna is obscured—likened to the sun being hidden by clouds.