Shloka 30
द्रोणस्य सुपर्णव्यूहः — युधिष्ठिरप्रत्यव्यूहः
Droṇa’s Suparṇa Formation and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Counter-array
सोत्तरायुधिनो नागा: सपताकाड्कुशध्वजा: । पेतु: शक्राशनिहता द्रुमवन्त इवाचला:,पताका, अंकुश और ध्वजोंसे विभूषित गजराज वहाँ इन्द्रके वज्ञसे मारे हुए वृक्षयुक्त पर्वतोंके समान ऊपर चढ़े हुए योद्धाओंसहित धराशायी हो गये
sottarāyudhino nāgāḥ sapatākāṅkuśadhvajāḥ | petuḥ śakrāśanihatā drumavanta ivācalāḥ ||
পিঠিত সশস্ত্ৰ যোদ্ধা বহন কৰি, পতাকা-অঙ্কুশ-ধ্বজে বিভূষিত সেই মহাগজসমূহ ইন্দ্ৰৰ বজ্ৰাঘাতে আঘাতপ্ৰাপ্ত বৃক্ষাবৃত পৰ্বতখণ্ডৰ দৰে ভূমিত লুটাই পৰিল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly power in war: even seemingly ‘mountain-like’ forces (war-elephants with splendid insignia) can be brought down instantly. It cautions against pride in might and display, and points to the swift reversals inherent in violent conflict.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where war-elephants—carrying armed riders and decorated with banners, goads, and standards—collapse after being struck with overwhelming force, compared poetically to forested mountains felled by Indra’s thunderbolt.