Shloka 3

Devanagari script

गजानां भीमरूपाणां द्रवतां नि:ःस्वनो महान्‌ | अश्रूयत यथा काले जलदानां नभस्तले

Transliteration

gajānāṃ bhīmarūpāṇāṃ dravatāṃ niḥsvano mahān | aśrūyata yathā kāle jaladānāṃ nabhastale ||

Translation

பாய்ந்து வந்த பேருருவ யானைகளின் பெரும் அச்சமூட்டும் முழக்கம் கேட்டது—காலத்தில் வானில் மழைமேகங்கள் இடியென முழங்குவது போல.

Word by Word

गजानाम्of elephants

भीमरूपाणाम्of terrible-formed (fearsome-looking)

द्रवताम्of (those) running / rushing

निःस्वनःsound, roar

महान्great, loud

अश्रूयतwas heard

यथाas, just as

कालेat (the proper) time / in season

जलदानाम्of rain-clouds

नभःतलेin the expanse/surface of the sky

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

elephants

rain-clouds

sky

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war magnifies fear and momentum through sensory power: the thunder-like roar of charging elephants conveys the overwhelming force that can unsettle judgment, reminding readers that ethical steadiness (dharma-buddhi) is tested amid terrifying spectacle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield atmosphere: fearsome elephants are rushing forward, and their tremendous noise is heard, compared to the seasonal thunder of rain-clouds spreading across the sky.