Shloka 31
Droṇa’s Withdrawal, Death, and the Kaurava Rout (द्रोणनिधन-प्रसङ्गः)
तेन प्रदीप्तेन तथा प्रदीप्तं बल॑ तवासीदू बलवद् बलेन
tena pradīptena tathā pradīptaṃ balaṃ tavāsīd balavad balena
Sañjaya sprach: Durch jene lodernde Kraft geriet auch dein Heer gleichsam in Brand—überwältigt und aufgewühlt von einer Macht, die an sich selbst von höchster Stärke war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how sheer intensity of force can spread like fire: when power is wielded with overwhelming momentum, it can ignite disorder and defeat in an opposing force. Ethically, it points to the destructive contagion of violence—strength in war often escalates suffering rather than restoring dharma.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a blazing, overpowering force on the battlefield caused the Kaurava host (‘your army’) to become ‘inflamed’—i.e., thrown into turmoil, routed, or consumed by the opponent’s fierce onslaught.