Shloka 11

Sainyavinyāsa–Lakṣaṇa (Disposition of Armies and Battlefield Omens) | सैन्यविन्यास–लक्षणम्

Devanagari script

शोणैह्हये रुक्मरथो महात्मा द्रोणो धनुष्पाणिरदीनसत्त्व: । आस्ते गुरु: प्रायश: सर्वराज्ञां पश्चाच्च भूमीन्द्र इवाभियाति,उनके पीछे प्रायः समस्त राजाओंके गुरु, उदार हृदयवाले महामना द्रोणाचार्य हाथमें धनुष लिये लाल घोड़ोंसे जुते हुए सुवर्णमय रथमें बैठकर भूमिपालकी भाँति युद्धके लिये जा रहे थे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

śoṇaiḥ-haye rukma-ratho mahātmā droṇo dhanuṣ-pāṇir adīna-sattvaḥ |

āste guruḥ prāyaśaḥ sarva-rājñāṃ paścāc ca bhūmīndra ivābhiyāti ||

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—ఎర్రని అశ్వములతో యుక్తమైన స్వర్ణరథమున మహాత్ముడు ద్రోణుడు, ధనుస్సు చేతబట్టి, అచల ధైర్యముతో ఆసీనుడై యుండెను. దాదాపు సమస్త రాజులకు గురువైన అతడు, వెనుకనుండి భూపాలుడివలె యుద్ధమునకు అభిముఖమై సాగెను.

Word by Word

शोणैःwith red (horses)

हयैःwith horses

रुक्मरथःone having a golden chariot / golden-charioted

महात्माgreat-souled

द्रोणःDrona

धनुष्पाणिःbow-in-hand

अदीनसत्त्वःof undepressed spirit

आस्तेsits / remains seated

गुरुःteacher

प्रायशःfor the most part / generally

सर्वराज्ञाम्of all kings

पश्चात्behind / afterwards

चand

भूमीन्द्रःlord of the earth (king)

इवlike / as if

अभियातिadvances / goes forth (to attack)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Droṇa (Droṇācārya)

golden chariot (rukma-ratha)

chestnut horses (śoṇaiḥ-haya)

bow (dhanuṣ)

kings (rājānaḥ / rājñām)

bhūmīndra (earth-lord/king, as a simile)

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 the ethical gravity of leadership and instruction: a guru revered by many kings enters the battlefield with courage and regal bearing. It implicitly raises the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between social role (guru, protector) and the destructive inevitability of war undertaken as perceived duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates the Kaurava forces moving into battle formation. Droṇācārya, armed with his bow, rides in a golden chariot drawn by chestnut horses, advancing behind the kings—depicted like a bhūmīndra (sovereign) going forth to war.