Shloka 18
महाव्यूहप्रवर्तनम् / Deployment of the Great Battle Arrays
धनूंषि विस्फारयतां नृपाणां बभूव शब्दस्तुमुलोडतिघोर: । विमथ्यतो देवमहासुरौधै- ्यथार्णवस्यादियुगे तदानीम्
dhanūṁṣi visphārayatāṁ nṛpāṇāṁ babhūva śabdas tumulo ’tighoraḥ | vimathyato devamahāsuraughair yathārṇavasya ’diyuge tadānīm ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: Nang higpitan at patunugin ng mga hari ang kanilang mga busog, sumiklab ang isang dagundong na magulo at lubhang nakapanghihilakbot—gaya ng pag-ugong ng sinaunang karagatan sa unang panahon, nang ito’y pinakilos ng napakaraming diyos at dakilang mga asura.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield violence within a cosmic register: the actions of rulers are not private but world-affecting. It implicitly warns that when kṣatriya power is unleashed, it can resemble primordial upheaval—therefore it must be governed by dharma and restraint, not mere rage or ambition.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the kings on the field are drawing and twanging their bows, producing a terrifying, thunderous din. He compares this sound to the ancient churning of the ocean by the assembled gods and great asuras, emphasizing the scale and intensity of the impending combat.