Shloka 15
महाव्यूहप्रवर्तनम् / Deployment of the Great Battle Arrays
शस्त्रास्त्रविद्धिर्नरवीरयो थै- रथिछिता: सैन्यगणास्त्वदीया: । रथौघपादातगजाश्चसंघै: प्रयाद्धिराजी विधिवत् प्रणुन्ने:
sañjaya uvāca |
śastrāstraviddhir naravīrayothai rathicchitāḥ sainyagaṇās tvadīyāḥ |
rathaughapādātagajāś ca saṅghaiḥ prayāddhi rājī vidhivat praṇunneḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: Deine Truppen — Helden, von Waffen und Geschossen getroffen und durchbohrt, und viele Wagenlenker, die niedergemäht wurden — wurden in geziemender Schlachtordnung zurückgedrängt. In dichten Verbänden aus Streitwagen, Fußvolk und Elefanten zogen sie sich vom Feld zurück, vom Druck des Angriffs gezwungen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid destructive conflict, the epic notes the importance of vidhivat—acting with discipline and recognized rules of engagement. The verse highlights how force and consequence operate in war: when overwhelmed, an army is compelled to withdraw, and order becomes a moral and practical necessity.
Sañjaya reports to the Kuru side that Duryodhana’s forces, heavily wounded and with many chariot-warriors cut down, were driven back. They retreat from the battlefield in clustered formations of chariots, infantry, and elephants, indicating a pressured withdrawal rather than a voluntary pause.