Shloka 32
ध्वजवर्णनम् | Dhvaja-varṇanam
Description of War Standards
श्र: सदेवा: सगन्धर्वा: पिशाचोरगराक्षसा:
śrāḥ sadevās sagandharvāḥ piśācoragarākṣasāḥ
Sañjaya said: “Even the celestial hosts—together with the Gandharvas, and also the Piśācas, serpents, and Rākṣasas—[were involved/affected].” The line evokes the sense that the events on the battlefield had repercussions so vast and fearsome that beings from every realm, divine and uncanny alike, are drawn into the scene, underscoring the moral gravity and cosmic scale of the war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that adharma-driven violence is not merely a human affair: it disturbs the wider moral and cosmic order. By invoking divine and uncanny beings together, the text stresses the ethical weight of the conflict and the far-reaching consequences of war.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes the battlefield atmosphere as so intense that it seems to involve or affect beings from multiple realms—gods, celestial spirits, and fearsome non-human classes—amplifying the sense of dread and magnitude surrounding the fighting.