Shloka 15
महाव्यूहप्रवर्तनम् / Deployment of the Great Battle Arrays
शस्त्रास्त्रविद्धिर्नरवीरयो थै- रथिछिता: सैन्यगणास्त्वदीया: । रथौघपादातगजाश्चसंघै: प्रयाद्धिराजी विधिवत् प्रणुन्ने:
sañjaya uvāca |
śastrāstraviddhir naravīrayothai rathicchitāḥ sainyagaṇās tvadīyāḥ |
rathaughapādātagajāś ca saṅghaiḥ prayāddhi rājī vidhivat praṇunneḥ ||
ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ರಾಜಾ, ಶಸ್ತ್ರಾಸ್ತ್ರಗಳಿಂದ ವಿದ್ಧರಾದ ನರವೀರ ಯೋಧರು, ಅನೇಕ ರಥಿಗಳು ಛಿದ್ರಗೊಂಡು ಬಿದ್ದರು. ಯುದ್ಧವಿಧಿಯಂತೆ ಆಕ್ರಮಣದ ಬಲದಿಂದ ತಳ್ಳಲ್ಪಟ್ಟು ನಿನ್ನ ಸೇನಾಗಣಗಳು ರಥಸಮೂಹ, ಪಾದಾತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಗಜಸಂಘಗಳ ಘನ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ರಣಭೂಮಿಯಿಂದ ಹಿಂತಿರುಗಿದವು—ಪ್ರಹಾರದ ಬಲಕ್ಕೆ ವಶವಾಗಿ।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid destructive conflict, the epic notes the importance of vidhivat—acting with discipline and recognized rules of engagement. The verse highlights how force and consequence operate in war: when overwhelmed, an army is compelled to withdraw, and order becomes a moral and practical necessity.
Sañjaya reports to the Kuru side that Duryodhana’s forces, heavily wounded and with many chariot-warriors cut down, were driven back. They retreat from the battlefield in clustered formations of chariots, infantry, and elephants, indicating a pressured withdrawal rather than a voluntary pause.