Shloka 22
सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies
उपाजगाम कौरव्यमक्षौहिण्या विशाम्पते । तस्य सेनासमावाय: शलभानामिवाबभौ
upājagāma kauravyam akṣauhiṇyā viśāmpate | tasya senāsamāvāyaḥ śalabhānām ivābabhau ||
ویشَمپاین نے کہا—اے رعایا کے سردار! ایک اَکشَوہِنی لشکر کوروؤں کی طرف بڑھ آیا۔ اس کی فوج کا ہجوم ٹڈی دل کی مانند دکھائی دیا—گھنا، وسیع اور ہیبت ناک۔
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how quickly collective force can swell into an overwhelming presence; the locust-swarm simile hints at the destructive potential of unchecked ambition and the ethical urgency of restraining conflict before it becomes irreversible.
A full akṣauhiṇī contingent moves toward the Kaurava, and the narrator describes the assembled troops as resembling a dense swarm of locusts, emphasizing the scale and foreboding atmosphere of impending war.