tataha shankashcha bheryascha panavaanakagomukhaahaa |
sahasaivaabhyahanyanta sa shabda tumulobhavat ||13 ||
 
Immediately thereafter, several conches, bugles, trumpets, kettle-horns and cow-horns resounded simultaneously, growing into a tumultuous sound.
 
tataha: thereafter
shankha: conches
cha: and
bherya: bugles
panava-aanaka: trumpets and kettedrums
go-mukhaha: cow-horns
sahasaa eva abhyahanyanta: resounded suddenly and simultaneously
shabdaha: sound
abhavat: became
tumulaha: tumultuous
 
This is another verse in the sequence of verses that brings us closer to the start of the war. It also suggests that the Kaurava army was happy that their commander Bheeshma was eager to begin the war.
 
As we progress through this verse into some of the later verses, we cannot help but paint a picture of that battlefield, since the words used in these verses are so evocative. For some of us that grew up in India, we probably tend to dig up memories of watching the Mahabharata on Sunday morning, and maybe those memories are recalled. With this verse, we now have another dimension that adds depth to the picture – that of sound.
 
The author of these verses clearly intends to paint a rich picture of the battlefield, and the Kaurava army in particular. We shall see why shortly.