Shloka 11

भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 54: फल्गुन-प्रतिरोधः, सौबली-व्यूह-विध्वंसः, दुर्योधन-भीष्म-संवादः

Devanagari script

यथानलं प्रज्वलितं पतड़्ा: समभिद्रुता: । विनाशायोपगच्छन्ति तथा मे सैनिको जन:,“श्रीकृष्ण! भीष्म महान दिव्यास्त्रोंके ज्ञाता हैं। वे मेरी सारी सेनाका संहार कर डालेंगे। जैसे पतिंगे मरनेके लिये ही जलती आगमें कूद पड़ते हैं, उसी प्रकार मेरे समस्त सैनिक अपने विनाशके लिये ही भीष्मके समीप जाते हैं

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

yathānalaṃ prajvalitaṃ pataṅgāḥ samabhidrutāḥ |

vināśāyopagacchanti tathā me sainiko janaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Wie Motten kopfüber in ein loderndes Feuer fliegen und dort nur Vernichtung finden, so ziehen auch meine Soldaten ihrem eigenen Verderben entgegen.“

Word by Word

यथाjust as

अनलम्fire

प्रज्वलितम्blazing, kindled

पतङ्गाःmoths

समभिद्रुताःrushing towards, running up to

विनाशायfor destruction

उपगच्छन्तिthey go/approach

तथाso, in the same way

मेmy

सैनिकःmilitary, belonging to the army

जनःpeople, host (of men)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Duryodhana (implied by 'my soldiers' in context)

Bhīṣma (contextual referent in surrounding passage)

fire (anala)

moths (pataṅga)

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 highlights the tragic momentum of war: when judgment is clouded by fear, loyalty, or compulsion, people may rush toward certain harm—like moths drawn to flame. It implicitly critiques leadership and collective delusion that drive a force toward self-destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the Kaurava soldiers’ approach to battle as suicidal, using the image of moths plunging into a blazing fire. In the immediate context, the ‘fire’ is the overwhelming martial power they are facing (notably Bhīṣma), and Sañjaya conveys the sense of inevitable slaughter.