Shloka 20

Devanagari script

रथसड्घा नरव्याप्रा: समायान्तश्न संयुगे । विरेजु: समरे राजन्‌ ग्रहा इव नभस्तले,राजन! रथोंके समूह और नरश्रेष्ठ नरेशगण युद्धमें आते हुए उसी प्रकार शोभा पा रहे थे, जैसे आकाशमें ग्रह-नक्षत्र सुशोभित होते हैं

Transliteration

rathasaṅghā naravyāprāḥ samāyāntaś ca saṃyuge | virejuḥ samare rājan grahā iva nabhastale ||

Translation

Санджая сказал: О царь, когда битва вот-вот должна была сомкнуться, плотные ряды колесниц и лучшие из мужей — цари-воители — двинулись в сечу. На поле брани они сияли грозным великолепием, словно планеты и звёзды, украшающие небесный свод.

Word by Word

रथसङ्घाःgroups of chariots

नरव्याघ्राःtiger-like men (best of men)

समायान्तःcoming together/approaching

चand

संयुगेin battle

विरेजुःshone/appeared splendid

समरेin the battle

राजन्O king

ग्रहाःplanets (luminaries)

इवlike/as

नभस्तलेon the surface of the sky

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

chariot-hosts (rathasaṅghāḥ)

warrior-kings/foremost men (narāḥ)

celestial bodies (grahāḥ)

sky/firmament (nabhastala)

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 highlights how war can appear outwardly magnificent—like the ordered beauty of the heavens—yet it remains a human clash driven by royal ambition and martial duty. It invites reflection on the contrast between aesthetic splendor and the grave ethical weight of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the chariot formations and leading warriors are advancing into combat. Their assembled forces glitter on the battlefield, compared poetically to planets and stars shining in the sky.