Shloka 16
महाव्यूहप्रवर्तनम् / Deployment of the Great Battle Arrays
समुद्धतं वै तरुणार्कवर्ण रजो बभौच्छादयन् सूर्यरश्मीन् । रेजु: पताका रथदन्तिसंस्था वातेरिता भ्राम्यमाणा: समन्तात्
samuddhataṃ vai taruṇārkavarṇa rajo babhaucchādayan sūryaraśmīn | rejuḥ patākā rathadantisamsthā vāteritā bhrāmyamāṇāḥ samantāt ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Der Staub, aufgewühlt und leuchtend wie der Farbton der jungen Sonne, stieg hoch empor und breitete sich aus, sodass er die Sonnenstrahlen verhüllte. Ringsum glänzten die an Streitwagen und Elefanten befestigten Banner und wirbelten, vom Wind getrieben.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers no direct injunction, but its ethical force lies in its vivid portrayal of war’s atmosphere: human ambition and violence raise a blinding ‘dust’ that obscures clarity (symbolized by the sun’s rays). It implicitly cautions that conflict clouds discernment and spreads turmoil in all directions.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield as fighting and movement intensify: dust rises in a reddish-golden mass, dimming sunlight, while the standards mounted on chariots and elephants glitter and whirl in the wind across the field.