Shloka 30
द्रोणस्य सुपर्णव्यूहः — युधिष्ठिरप्रत्यव्यूहः
Droṇa’s Suparṇa Formation and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Counter-array
सोत्तरायुधिनो नागा: सपताकाड्कुशध्वजा: । पेतु: शक्राशनिहता द्रुमवन्त इवाचला:,पताका, अंकुश और ध्वजोंसे विभूषित गजराज वहाँ इन्द्रके वज्ञसे मारे हुए वृक्षयुक्त पर्वतोंके समान ऊपर चढ़े हुए योद्धाओंसहित धराशायी हो गये
sottarāyudhino nāgāḥ sapatākāṅkuśadhvajāḥ | petuḥ śakrāśanihatā drumavanta ivācalāḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Les grands éléphants de guerre, portant sur leur dos des combattants armés et parés de bannières, d’aiguillons et d’enseignes, s’abattirent sur le sol—comme frappés par la foudre d’Indra—tels des masses montagneuses vêtues d’arbres qui s’écroulent.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly power in war: even seemingly ‘mountain-like’ forces (war-elephants with splendid insignia) can be brought down instantly. It cautions against pride in might and display, and points to the swift reversals inherent in violent conflict.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where war-elephants—carrying armed riders and decorated with banners, goads, and standards—collapse after being struck with overwhelming force, compared poetically to forested mountains felled by Indra’s thunderbolt.