Shloka 30
Droṇa’s Withdrawal, Death, and the Kaurava Rout (द्रोणनिधन-प्रसङ्गः)
सारी सेनाओंके पार्श्रभागमें, आगे, पीछे, बीचमें एवं चारों ओर भिन्न-भिन्न सैनिक चलती हुई मशालें हाथमें लेकर पाण्डुपुत्रकी सेनाको प्रकाशित करने लगे ।। मध्ये तथान्ये ज्वलिताग्निहस्ता: सेनाद्वयेडपि सम नरा विचेरु: । सर्वेषु सैन्येषु पदातिसड्घा विमिश्रिता हस्तिरथाश्चववन्दै:
madhye tathānye jvalitāgnihastāḥ senādvayor api samaṃ narā viceruḥ | sarveṣu sainyeṣu padātisaṅghā vimiśritā hastirathāś ca vavande ||
サञ्जयは言った。「あらゆる軍の側面、前方、後方、中ほど、そして四方において、さまざまな兵が燃える松明を手に行き交い、パーンドゥの子の軍勢を照らし始めた。両軍の中間にも、燃え立つ火を手にした別の男たちが、等しく往来していた。全軍にわたり、歩兵の大群は象と戦車に入り交じり、戦場全体が織り重なる隊列のうねりに見えた——不吉な光が敵陣をあからさまにし、夜戦の道義的緊張をいっそう高めたのである。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war’s machinery—light, movement, and coordination—can strip away concealment and force confrontation. Ethically, it underscores the intensification of conflict when visibility and certainty replace ambiguity, pressing warriors to face the consequences of their choices without the cover of darkness.
Torch-bearers move through and between the two armies, spreading light across the battlefield. As the flames illuminate the field, infantry, elephants, and chariots appear intermingled in dense formations, conveying the scale and restless motion of the forces at night.