Shloka 22
Bhīṣma’s Retrospective of the Jāmadagnya Rāma Encounter
Divyāstra-Pratiyuddha and Twilight Cessation
उल्काश्न शतशः पेतु: सनिर्घाता: सकम्पना: । अर्क च सहसा दीप्तं स्वर्भानुरभिसंवृणोत्
ulkāś ca śataśaḥ petuḥ sanirghātāḥ sakampanāḥ | arkaṃ ca sahasā dīptaṃ svarbhānur abhisamvṛṇot ||
毗湿摩说道：数百流星坠落，伴随雷霆般的轰响与震颤；大地发生地震。那以自身光芒炽然照耀的太阳，忽被斯瓦尔婆奴（罗睺）从四面骤然遮蔽。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When dharma is about to be violated on a massive scale, the tradition frames nature’s upheavals—meteors, earthquakes, eclipses—as moral-symbolic warnings. The verse underscores that adharma in human action is mirrored by perceived disorder in the cosmos, urging rulers and warriors to recognize consequences and restrain destructive choices.
Bhishma describes terrifying portents: meteors raining down with thunder-like crashes, the earth shaking, and the Sun suddenly being eclipsed by Svarbhanu (Rahu). These signs foreshadow the catastrophic Kurukshetra war and the suffering that will follow.