Mahabharata — Drona Parva, Shloka 196
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 107: Karṇa–Bhīma Saṃmarda
Arrow-storm Engagement
सर्वबीजविरूढेव यथा सीता श्रिया वृता । माननीय नरेश! जैसे खेतमें हलकी नोकसे बनी हुई रेखा सभी बीजोंके अंकुरित होनेपर शोभासम्पन्न दिखायी देती है
sarvabījavirūḍheva yathā sītā śriyā vṛtā | mānanīya nareśa! yathā kṣetre halikā-nokasambhūtā rekhā sarvabījānāṃ aṅkurībhāve śobhāsampannā dṛśyate, tathā madrarājasya rathāśrayaṃ labdhvā sā sītā (halakṛtā rekhā) mahāśobhayā virājate sma |
Wika ni Sañjaya: “O kagalang-galang na hari! Kung paanong ang guhit na ukit ng dulo ng araro sa bukid ay nagiging marikit kapag sumibol na ang lahat ng binhi, gayon din ang ‘Sītā’—ang tudling na likha ng araro—ay nagkamit ng dakilang ningning nang sumandig sa karwaheng pandigma ng hari ng Madra.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how splendour and effectiveness arise when something finds proper support: as a furrow-line becomes truly beautiful when seeds sprout, so a feature or formation in war gains prominence when aligned with a powerful protector (here, the Madra king’s chariot). It implicitly points to the ethical insight that outcomes depend not only on inherent form but also on right association and timely conditions.
Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, uses an agrarian simile: he compares a ‘sītā’ (a plough-made furrow line) becoming attractive after germination to a battlefield sight that has become especially splendid by taking refuge with Śalya, the king of Madra, and his chariot.