Shloka 10
अध्याय ६० — कर्णस्य पाञ्चाल-सोमक-निग्रहः
Karna’s Suppression of the Panchala–Somaka Forces
रथनागाश्व॒कलिल पत्तिध्वजसमाकुलम् | बभूव पुरुषव्याप्र सैन्यमद्भुतदर्शनम्,पुरुषसिंह! रथ, हाथी, घोड़े, पैदल योद्धा और ध्वजोंसे व्याप्त हुई वह सारी सेना अद्भुत दिखायी दे रही थी
ratha-nāgāśva-kalilaṃ patti-dhvaja-samākulam | babhūva puruṣa-vyāghra sainyam adbhuta-darśanam, puruṣa-siṃha |
Sañjaya dit : «Ô tigre parmi les hommes, ô lion parmi les hommes, l’armée devint un spectacle merveilleux : serrée de chars, d’éléphants et de chevaux, et encombrée de fantassins et d’étendards. Toute la multitude, hérissée d’armes et de bannières, paraissait redoutable dans sa puissance rangée.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic’s moral tension: outward military grandeur—dense ranks of chariots, elephants, horses, infantry, and banners—can appear ‘wondrous,’ yet such splendor serves a destructive end. It implicitly invites discernment between impressive power and righteous purpose (dharma).
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addressing him with honorific epithets (“tiger/lion among men”), and describes the assembled host as a striking, densely packed battlefield formation filled with war-machines, troops, and standards.