Shloka 13

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत भीष्मपर्वके अन्तर्गत श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतापर्वमें भीष्मयत्युश्रवणविषयक तेरहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,पाण्डवानां महत्‌ सैन्यं यं दृष्टवोद्यतमाहवे । कालाग्निमिव दुर्धर्ष समचेष्टत नित्यश: पाण्डवोंकी विशाल सेना दुर्धर्ष कालाग्निके समान जिन्हें युद्धके लिये उद्यत देख सदा काँपने लगती थी

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

pāṇḍavānāṃ mahat sainyaṃ yaṃ dṛṣṭvodyatam āhave |

kālāgnim iva durdharṣaṃ samaceṣṭata nityaśaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Seeing the vast army of the Pāṇḍavas standing ready for battle—formidable like the fire of Time itself—(the opposing host) would continually be shaken and thrown into anxious commotion.

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'pāṇḍavānām': 'of the Pāṇḍavas', 'mahat': 'great, vast', 'sainyam': 'army, host', 'yam dṛṣṭvā': 'having seen which

• on seeing whom/which', 'udyatam': 'raised, prepared, ready (for action)', 'āhave': 'in battle, in combat', 'kālāgniḥ': 'the fire of Time (cosmic, consuming fire

• image of inevitable destruction)', 'iva': 'like, as if', 'durdharṣam': 'hard to assail, formidable, irresistible', 'samaceṣṭata': 'was agitated

• became restless', 'nityaśaḥ': 'constantly, repeatedly'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍavas
• Pāṇḍava army (sainya)
• kālāgni (Fire of Time, metaphor)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical and psychological force of dharmic strength: when a just cause is backed by disciplined power, it can unsettle opponents. The simile of 'kālāgni' suggests inevitability—once the conditions for war mature, its consuming momentum becomes hard to resist.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield atmosphere: the Pāṇḍavas’ immense army stands fully prepared, and its terrifying readiness causes the opposing side to tremble and become repeatedly agitated.