Shloka 11

Bhīṣma-parva Adhyāya 16 — Saṃjaya’s Boon, Bhīṣma’s Protection, and the Dawn Arraying of Armies

Devanagari script

ध्वजा बहुविधाकारा व्यदृश्यन्त समुच्छिता: । स्वेषां चैव परेषां च द्युतिमन्त: सहस्रश:,अपने और शत्रुओंके अनेक प्रकारके ऊँचे-ऊँचे चमकीले ध्वज हजारोंकी संख्यामें दृष्टिगोचर हो रहे थे

Transliteration

dhvajā bahuvidhākārā vyadṛśyanta samucchitāḥ | sveṣāṃ caiva pareṣāṃ ca dyutimantaḥ sahasraśaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Hoch aufragende Banner in vielerlei Formen und Zeichen waren zu sehen—auf unserer wie auf der feindlichen Seite—zu Tausenden glänzend. Das Bild kündete vom gewaltigen Ausmaß der nahenden Schlacht und von der Zurschaustellung von Macht und Identität, die der moralischen Prüfung des Krieges vorausgeht.

Word by Word

ध्वजाःflags, banners

बहुविधाकाराःof many kinds of forms

व्यदृश्यन्तwere seen, appeared

समुच्छिताःraised up, lofty

स्वेषाम्of their own (side)

चand

एवindeed, just

परेषाम्of the others, of the enemies

चand

द्युतिमन्तःshining, radiant

सहस्रशःby thousands, in thousands

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

dhvaja (banners/standards)

Kaurava army (implied by 'ours')

Pāṇḍava army (implied by 'the enemy')

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war presents itself first as spectacle—symbols, banners, and displays of might—yet this outward grandeur precedes and contrasts with the inner ethical burden of dharma that the warriors must face.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that countless tall, radiant banners of many designs are visible on both armies, emphasizing the immense scale and readiness of the forces assembled at Kurukṣetra.