Mahabharata 3.42.5 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 42, Shloka 5
Lokapāla-samāgamaḥ—Arjuna Receives Astras from the World-Guardians
Book 3, Chapter 42
तथैवाशनयश्वैव चक्रयुक्तास्तुलागुडा: । वायुस्फोटा: सनिर्घाता महामेघस्वनास्तथा
tathaivāśanayaś caiva cakrayuktās tulāguḍāḥ | vāyusphoṭāḥ sanirghātā mahāmeghasvanās tathā ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Gayundin, naroon ang mga punglo na tulad ng vajra, mabibigat na batong bolang inihahagis sa pamamagitan ng gulong, at mabibigat na pamalo; kapag pinakawalan, hinihiwa nila ang hangin sa matinis na ugong, at tumatama nang may lagapak na parang kulog at malalim na dagundong na gaya ng malalaking ulap ng bagyo.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than doctrinal: it conveys how the apparatus of war escalates terror and destruction. By comparing weapon-sounds to thunder and storm-clouds, it implicitly warns that violence overwhelms human measure and brings an atmosphere of dread.
Vaiśampāyana is describing formidable weapons—thunderbolt-like missiles and heavy wheel-propelled maces/stone balls—emphasizing their whirring flight and thunderous impact, as part of a larger scene portraying martial preparation or combat intensity.
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