Shloka 26
नारायणास्त्र-शमनं द्रौणि-प्रहारश्च
Pacification of the Nārāyaṇāstra and Drauni’s Renewed Assault
उन दोनों रणदुर्मद वीर महारथियोंने वर्षाकालके दो मेघोंके समान आकाशको बाणसमूहोंसे व्याप्त कर दिया ।। प्रकृत्या घोररूपं तदासीद् घोरतरं पुन: । रात्रिश्व भरतश्रेष्ठ योधानां युद्शशालिनाम्
ubhau tau raṇadurmadau vīrau mahārathī varṣākālayor iva dvau meghau samānau ākāśaṃ bāṇasamūhaiḥ vyāptaṃ cakratuḥ. prakṛtyā ghorarūpaṃ tad āsīd ghorataraṃ punaḥ; rātriś ca bharataśreṣṭha yodhānāṃ yuddhaśālinām.
ఆ దృశ్యం సహజంగానే ఘోరమైనది; మరల మరింత భయంకరమైంది—ఓ భరతశ్రేష్ఠా, యుద్ధనిపుణులైన యోధులపై రాత్రి కమ్ముకుంది।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how unchecked martial pride (raṇa-durmada) and escalating violence can turn an already dreadful conflict into something even more terrifying—especially when conditions like nightfall intensify confusion and danger, testing restraint and ethical judgment in war.
Sañjaya describes two elite warriors exchanging such dense volleys of arrows that the sky seems covered, like by monsoon clouds; the battlefield’s horror increases further as night descends upon combatants still pressing the fight.