Shloka 24

Devanagari script

पश्चार्थे तस्य पद्मस्तु गर्भव्यूह: सुदुर्भिद: । सूची पद्मस्य गर्भस्थो गूढो व्यूह: कृत: पुन:,उस चक्रशकटव्यूहके पिछले भागमें पद्म नामक एक गर्भव्यूह बनाया गया था, जो अत्यन्त दुर्भद्य था। उस पद्यव्यूहके मध्यभागमें सूची नामक एक गूढ़ व्यूह और बनाया गया था

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

paścārdhe tasya padmas tu garbhavyūhaḥ sudurbhidaḥ |

sūcī padmasya garbhastho gūḍho vyūhaḥ kṛtaḥ punaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Im Rücken jener Formation wurde ein inneres Gefüge namens ‘Lotos’ errichtet, überaus schwer zu durchbrechen. Und im Kern des Lotos wurde wiederum eine weitere verborgene Ordnung geschaffen, genannt ‘Nadel’.“

Word by Word

पश्चात्behind, afterwards

अर्थेin the part/region

तस्यof that (formation)

पद्मःPadma (lotus) formation

तुbut/indeed

गर्भव्यूहःinner/encapsulated battle-array

सुदुर्भिदःvery hard to break/penetrate

सूचीSūcī (needle) formation

पद्मस्यof the Padma (array)

गर्भस्थःsituated inside (as an inner core)

गूढःhidden, concealed

व्यूहःbattle-array, formation

कृतःmade, arranged

पुनःagain, further

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Padma-vyūha (Lotus formation)

Garbha-vyūha (inner formation)

Sūcī-vyūha (Needle formation)

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 warfare in the Mahābhārata often turns on layered tactics—arrays within arrays—raising ethical tension between kṣatriya valor (open combat) and strategic concealment (gūḍha-vyūha). It implicitly invites reflection on how dharma is tested when victory depends on increasingly intricate and deceptive stratagems.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the enemy’s battle formation as having a rear ‘Lotus’ inner-array that is extremely hard to penetrate, and within that Lotus a further hidden ‘Needle’ formation placed at the core—indicating a multi-layered defensive design meant to trap or thwart attackers.