Shloka 14
महाव्यूहप्रवर्तनम् / Deployment of the Great Battle Arrays
प्रहर्षयुक्तानि तु तानि राजन् महान्ति नानाविधशस्त्रवन्ति । स्थितानि नागाश्चूपदातिमन्ति विरेजुराजी तव राजन् बलानि,महाराज! आपकी वे विशाल सेनाएँ नाना प्रकारके अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंसे सम्पन्न हो अत्यन्त हर्ष एवं उत्साहमें भरी हुई थीं। राजन! घोड़े, हाथी और पैदलोंसे युक्त हो रणभूमिमें खड़ी हुई उन सेनाओंकी बड़ी शोभा होती थी
praharṣayuktāni tu tāni rājan mahānti nānāvidhaśastravantī | sthitāni nāgāś copadātimanti virejur ājau tava rājan balāni ||
Sañjaya said: O King, those vast divisions of your army—equipped with weapons of many kinds—stood filled with exhilaration and martial ardor. With elephants and supporting troops drawn up in formation, your forces shone splendidly on the battlefield, their ordered readiness reflecting the intoxicating confidence that precedes great violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how collective exhilaration and splendid military display can mask the moral gravity of impending slaughter. It implicitly invites reflection on the ethical tension between martial pride and the destructive consequences of war.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the king’s armies are arrayed on the battlefield—large, well-armed, and accompanied by elephants and supporting troops—radiant with enthusiasm as the battle is about to intensify.