Shloka 25

Arjuna–Bhīṣma Strategic Engagement and Mutual Arrow-Interdiction (भीष्मार्जुनसमागमः)

Devanagari script

कुरुपाण्डवसेने ते हस्त्यश्वरथसंकुले । शुशुभाते रणे5तीव पटे चित्रार्पिते इव

Transliteration

kurupāṇḍavasene te hasty-aśva-ratha-saṅkule | śuśubhāte raṇe 'tīva paṭe citrārpite iva ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Jene Heere der Kurus und der Pāṇḍavas, dicht gedrängt von Elefanten, Pferden und Streitwagen, glänzten auf dem Schlachtfeld — wie leuchtende Gestalten, auf ein Tuch gemalt. Der Vers hebt das eindringliche Schauspiel des Krieges hervor: äußere Schönheit und Ordnung, die das schwere moralische Gewicht der nahenden Vernichtung verhüllen.

Word by Word

• कुरु-पाण्डव-सेने: the Kuru and Pandava armies
• कुरु-पाण्डव-सेने: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेना
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Dual

• ते: those (two)
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Dual

• हस्ति-अश्व-रथ-संकुले: crowded with elephants, horses, and chariots
• हस्ति-अश्व-रथ-संकुले: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संकुल
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Dual

• शुशुभाते: shone, were splendid
• शुशुभाते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुभ्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Dual, Parasmaipada

• रणे: in battle / on the battlefield
• रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• अतीव: exceedingly, very much
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतीव

• पटे: on a cloth/canvas
• पटे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पट
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• चित्र-आर्पिते: depicted/painted as a picture (lit. 'picture-placed')
• चित्र-आर्पिते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आर्पित
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kuru army
• Pāṇḍava army
• battlefield (raṇa)
• elephants
• horses
• chariots
• painted cloth/canvas (paṭa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts the visual splendor of martial formations with the ethical gravity of war: what appears beautiful and orderly can still be a setting for profound suffering and moral consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kuru and Pāṇḍava forces, packed with elephants, horses, and chariots, look dazzling on the battlefield—comparable to a richly painted scene on cloth.