Mahabharata 7.41.9 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 41, Shloka 9
Jayadrathasya varaprāptiḥ (जयद्रथस्य वरप्राप्तिः) — Jayadratha’s boon and the restraint of the Pāṇḍava advance
शलभैरिव चाकाशे धाराभिरिव चावृते । अभिमन्यो: शरै राजन न प्राज्ञायत किंचन
śalabhair iva cākāśe dhārābhir iva cāvṛte | abhimanyoḥ śarai rājān na prājñāyata kiñcana ||
Sañjaya said: O King, the sky was so completely veiled by Abhimanyu’s arrows that it looked as though it were filled with swarms of locusts or covered by sheets of pouring rain; in that sky nothing at all could be discerned. The image underscores the overwhelming force of a single warrior’s resolve in battle, where skill and courage can momentarily eclipse all clarity and order.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary discipline and valor in one’s duty (kṣatriya-dharma) can become so intense that it overwhelms the battlefield’s normal visibility and order—an ethical reminder that war magnifies human resolve and its consequences.
Sañjaya describes Abhimanyu releasing such a dense volley of arrows that the sky appears completely obscured, likened to locust swarms or heavy rain, so that nothing can be clearly seen.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.