Shloka 31
ध्वजवर्णनम् | Dhvaja-varṇanam
Description of War Standards
श्वेस्तां चक्रप्रमथितां द्रक्ष्य्से नूपवाहिनीम्
śvetāṁ cakra-pramathitāṁ drakṣyase nūpa-vāhinīm
Sañjaya dit : «Tu verras cette division de l’armée, blanche et rayonnante, broyée et jetée dans la confusion par la roue du char—une force réduite à l’impuissance par l’élan implacable du combat.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the overwhelming, impersonal force of war: once battle’s momentum is unleashed, even a proud, ‘radiant’ host can be reduced to disorder. It implicitly warns of the ethical cost of violence and the fragility of martial glory.
Sañjaya, reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, foretells/depicts a battlefield scene in which an opposing troop-body is smashed into confusion by the onrush of a chariot—symbolized by the ‘wheel’—indicating a rout or severe disruption of that formation.