Shloka 8

Devanagari script

एवं च तं तदा व्यूहं कृत्वा भारत तावका: | संनद्धा: समदृश्यन्त प्रतपन्त इवाग्नय:,भारत! इस प्रकार व्यूहरचना करके उस समय आपके पुत्र कवच आदिसे सुसज्जित हो प्रजजलित अग्नियोंके समान दृष्टिगोचर हो रहे थे

Transliteration

evaṁ ca taṁ tadā vyūhaṁ kṛtvā bhārata tāvakāḥ | saṁnaddhāḥ samadṛśyanta pratapanta ivāgnayaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O Bhārata, having thus arranged that battle-formation at that time, your warriors—fully armed and armoured—appeared like blazing fires, radiant with martial heat and resolve.”

Word by Word

एवम्thus

चand

तम्that

तदाthen, at that time

व्यूहम्battle-array, formation

कृत्वाhaving made/formed

भारतO Bharata (descendant of Bharata)

तावकाःyour men, your side's (soldiers)

संनद्धाःarmed, fully equipped

समदृश्यन्तwere seen, appeared

प्रतपन्तःblazing, scorching

इवlike, as if

अग्नयःfires

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as Bhārata)

Kaurava army (tāvakāḥ)

vyūha (battle formation)

agni (fire, as simile)

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 underscores how organized discipline (vyūha) and preparedness (saṁnaddha) amplify collective power in war; ethically, it reflects the epic’s realism that martial splendor can appear awe-inspiring even when serving a contested cause.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava forces, after forming their battle-array, stood fully equipped and looked like blazing fires—an image conveying their formidable, heated readiness for combat.