तरसैवाभिपत्याथ यो वै द्रोणम् उपाद्रवत् ॥
तं भीमसेनम् आयान्तं के शूराः पर्यवारयन् ॥
यद् आयाज् जलदप्रख्यो रथः परमवीर्यवान् ॥
पर्जन्य इव बीभत्सुस् तुमुलाम् अशनिं सृजन् ॥
ववर्ष शरवर्षाणि वर्षाणि मघवान् इव ॥
इषुसंबाधम् आकाशं कुर्वन् कपिवरध्वजः ॥
अवस्फूर्जन् दिशः सर्वास् तलनेमिस्वनेन च ॥
tarasaivābhipatyātha yo vai droṇam upādravat ||
taṃ bhīmasenam āyāntaṃ ke śūrāḥ paryavārayan ||
yad āyāj jaladaprakhyo rathaḥ paramavīryavān ||
parjanya iva bībhatsus tumulām aśaniṃ sṛjan ||
vavarṣa śaravarṣāṇi varṣāṇi maghavān iva ||
iṣusaṃbādham ākāśaṃ kurvan kapivaradhvajaḥ ||
avasphūrjan diśaḥ sarvās talanemisvanena ca ||
And as for him who, rushing with a headlong charge, fell upon Drona — Bhimasena advancing — what heroes restrained him? When the warrior of supreme valor was approaching on a chariot resembling a storm cloud — Bibhatsu [Arjuna], like Parjanya, discharging a deafening thunderbolt, poured down showers of arrows as Indra pours rain, the monkey-bannered warrior turning the sky into a firmament choked with arrows —
3ba9ca42f61c · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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Arjuna is shown as a storm cloud that pours not rain but torrents of arrows: the image joins the beneficent power of Parjanya with the smiting force of Indra the thunder-wielder. It is telling that his name is 'Bibhatsu' — 'one who abhors the base': even in the fury of battle he remains a stranger to dishonor, and so his storm is righteous. The monkey banner of Hanuman above him is a sign of devotion and of the presence of a higher power. The verse teaches that the valor of the righteous is fearsome as a tempest yet never lawless; that power joined to an aversion for baseness is at once life-giving and smiting, like a cloud that both waters and strikes; and that the army of righteousness advances not as blind force but as a storm guided by dharma.