Shloka 29
Droṇa’s Withdrawal, Death, and the Kaurava Rout (द्रोणनिधन-प्रसङ्गः)
सेनासु सर्वासु च पार्श्चतो <5न्ये पश्चात् पुरस्ताच्च समन्ततश्न । मध्ये तथान्ये ज्वलिताग्निहस्ता व्यदीपयन् पाण्डुसुतस्य सेनाम्
senāsu sarvāsu ca pārśvato 'nye paścāt purastāc ca samantataś ca | madhye tathānye jvalitāgnihastā vyadīpayan pāṇḍusutasya senām ||
Sañjaya dit : «Dans toutes les divisions de l’armée, les uns attaquaient par les flancs, d’autres par derrière et par devant, et d’autres encore de toutes parts. D’autres, au milieu, tenant des brandons enflammés, éclairaient l’armée du fils de Pāṇḍu—redoublant la terreur et la confusion du combat nocturne et poussant l’affrontement vers une violence impitoyable, enveloppante de tous côtés.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war, especially at night, tends to expand into indiscriminate, all-directional aggression; it implicitly warns that when visibility and restraint diminish, ethical boundaries in combat are easily eroded, making vigilance about dharma and limits in violence crucial.
Sañjaya describes a coordinated assault on the Pāṇḍava forces: attackers press from the flanks, rear, front, and all directions, while others in the center carry blazing firebrands to illuminate the battlefield and the Pāṇḍava army, enabling pursuit and intensifying the pressure of the night engagement.