Shloka 13

भीष्मधृतराष्ट्रसंवादः — पाण्डवबलप्रशंसा

Bhishma–Dhritarashtra Dialogue: Appraisal of Pandava Strength

Devanagari script

अस्त्रवेगानिलोद्धूत: सेनाकक्षेन्धनोत्थित: । पाण्डुपुत्रस्य सैन्यानि प्रधक्ष्यति रणे धृत:,समरभूमिमें डटे हुए द्रोणाचार्य अग्निके समान हैं। अस्त्रवेगरूपी वायुका सहारा पाकर ये उद्दीप्त होंगे और सेनारूपी घास-फ़ूस तथा ईंधनोंको पाकर प्रज्वलित हो उठेंगे। इस प्रकार ये प्रज्वलित होकर पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्टरिकी सेनाओंको जलाकर भस्म कर डालेंगे

Transliteration

astravegāniloddhūtaḥ senākakṣendhanotthitaḥ | pāṇḍuputrasya sainyāni pradhakṣyati raṇe dhṛtaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma disse: “Droṇa, firme no campo de batalha, é como um fogo. Avivado pelo vento da velocidade dos projéteis e alimentado pelo combustível seco dos batalhões compactos, ele se inflamará e queimará, na luta, os exércitos dos filhos de Pāṇḍu.” O verso enquadra a guerra como uma força devoradora: uma vez postas em movimento as condições da violência, ela se espalha depressa, alimenta-se das próprias formações destinadas a sustentá-la e ameaça aniquilar os que nela ficam presos.

Word by Word

अस्त्रवेगthe force/impetus of weapons

अनिलोद्धूतःblown/impelled by the wind

सेनाकक्षेन्धनfrom (having) army-grass and fuel (as kindling)

उत्थितःarisen, kindled up

पाण्डुपुत्रस्यof the son of Pāṇḍu

सैन्यानिarmies, troops

प्रधक्ष्यतिwill burn up, will consume

रणेin battle

धृतःsteadfast, firm

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Pāṇḍuputrāḥ (Pāṇḍavas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that violence, once unleashed and supplied with conditions that sustain it (weapons, formations, resolve), grows like a fire—quickly becoming self-propagating and indiscriminate in its destruction. Ethically, it warns how war’s momentum can overwhelm restraint and consume entire communities.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is forecasting battlefield outcomes: he describes a key warrior (implied by context to be a formidable commander) as a fire that will be fanned by the ‘wind’ of missiles and fed by the ‘fuel’ of dense armies, thereby burning down the forces of the Pāṇḍavas.