Shloka 30

Droṇa’s Withdrawal, Death, and the Kaurava Rout (द्रोणनिधन-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

सारी सेनाओंके पार्श्रभागमें, आगे, पीछे, बीचमें एवं चारों ओर भिन्न-भिन्न सैनिक चलती हुई मशालें हाथमें लेकर पाण्डुपुत्रकी सेनाको प्रकाशित करने लगे ।। मध्ये तथान्ये ज्वलिताग्निहस्ता: सेनाद्वयेडपि सम नरा विचेरु: । सर्वेषु सैन्येषु पदातिसड्घा विमिश्रिता हस्तिरथाश्चववन्दै:

Transliteration

madhye tathānye jvalitāgnihastāḥ senādvayor api samaṃ narā viceruḥ | sarveṣu sainyeṣu padātisaṅghā vimiśritā hastirathāś ca vavande ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „An den Flanken, vorn, hinten, in der Mitte und ringsum in allen Heeren begannen verschiedene Krieger, mit wandernden Fackeln in den Händen, das Heer des Sohnes Pāṇḍus zu erhellen. In der Mitte beider Heere bewegten sich auch andere Männer gleichmäßig umher, loderndes Feuer in den Händen. In allen Truppen mischten sich die Massen der Fußsoldaten mit Elefanten und Streitwagen, und das ganze Feld schien von verflochtenen Reihen zu wogen—ein unheilvolles Licht, das das gegnerische Heer deutlich sichtbar machte und die moralische Spannung der Nachtsschlacht verschärfte.“

Word by Word

मध्येin the middle

तथाlikewise/also

अन्येothers (men)

ज्वलिताग्निहस्ताःhaving hands holding blazing fire/torches

सेनाद्वयेin both armies

अपिalso/even

समम्equally/together

नराःmen

विचेरुःmoved about/wandered

सर्वेषुin all

सैन्येषुin the armies/forces

पदातिसङ्घाःgroups of foot-soldiers

विमिश्रिताःmingled/intermixed

हस्तिरथाःelephants and chariots

चand

ववन्देpraised/saluted (lit. bowed)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

two armies (Pāṇḍava and Kaurava forces)

torches/blazing fires

infantry

elephants

chariots

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how war’s machinery—light, movement, and coordination—can strip away concealment and force confrontation. Ethically, it underscores the intensification of conflict when visibility and certainty replace ambiguity, pressing warriors to face the consequences of their choices without the cover of darkness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Torch-bearers move through and between the two armies, spreading light across the battlefield. As the flames illuminate the field, infantry, elephants, and chariots appear intermingled in dense formations, conveying the scale and restless motion of the forces at night.