Shloka 31
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
वारणा: शतशश्षैव हता: श्वेतेन भारत । राजन! बहुमूल्य छत्र और पताकाएँ भी उनके बाणोंसे खण्डित हो गयीं। भरतनन्दन! बैतने अश्वों, रथों और मनुष्योंके समुदायका तो वध किया ही; सैकड़ों हाथी भी मार गिराये || ३० ह ।। वयं श्वेतभयाद् भीता विहाय रथसत्तमम्,जिघांसन्तं युधां श्रेष्ठ तदा55सीत् तुमुलं महत् । संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! पाण्डवपक्षके लाखों क्षत्रियशिरोमणि महारथी विराट सेनापति शूरवीर श्वेतको आगे करके आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनको अपना बल दिखाते हुए शिखण्डीको सामने रखकर भीष्मके सुवर्णभूषित रथपर चढ़ आये। भारत! वे महारथी श्लेतकी रक्षा करना चाहते थे। इसलिये उसे मारनेकी इच्छावाले योद्धाओंमें श्रेष्ठ भीष्मपर उन्होंने धावा किया। उस समय बड़ा भयंकर युद्ध छिड़ गया
vāraṇāḥ śataśaś caiva hatāḥ śvetena bhārata | rājan bahumūlyaṃ chatraṃ ca patākāś caiva tasya bāṇaiḥ khaṇḍitāḥ | vayaṃ śvetabhayād bhītā vihāya rathasattamam | jighāṃsantaṃ yudhāṃ śreṣṭhaṃ tadā āsīt tumulaṃ mahat ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, O Bhārata, Śveta cut down elephants by the hundreds, and even costly parasols and banners were shattered by his arrows. Struck with fear of Śveta, we abandoned our finest chariots; and when Bhīṣma—the foremost of warriors—pressed forward intent on killing him, a vast and dreadful tumult of battle arose.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the fragility of battlefield confidence: even well-equipped warriors can be driven to abandon their chariots when confronted by exceptional valor. It also frames an ethical tension—an elder bound by duty (Bhīṣma) moves to kill a younger champion (Śveta), showing how war forces dharma into harsh, tragic action.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Śveta is wreaking havoc—slaying elephants in the hundreds and shattering royal parasols and banners with arrows. The Kaurava side becomes frightened and retreats from their chariots, while Bhīṣma, the foremost warrior, advances with the intent to kill Śveta, causing a massive, terrifying clash.