Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 16

अभिमन्योर् विक्रमः — Abhimanyu’s Disruptive Advance and the Gāndharva-astra Counter

उपस्करैरधिष्ठानैरीषादण्डकबन्धुरै: । अक्षेविमिथितैश्वक्रैर्भग्नैश्व बहुधा युगैः,काटकर गिराये हुए हार, आभूषण, वस्त्र, विशाल भुजा, कवच, ढाल, मनोहर मुकुट, छत्र, चँवर, आवश्यक सामग्री, रथकी बैठक, ईषादण्ड, बन्धुर, चूर-चूर हुई धुरी, टूटे हुए पहिये, टूक-टूक हुए जूए, अनुकर्ष, पताका, सारथि, अश्व, टूटे हुए रथ और मरे हुए हाथियोंसे वहाँकी सारी पृथ्वी आच्छादित हो गयी थी

sañjaya uvāca |

upaskarair adhiṣṭhānair īṣādaṇḍaka-bandhuraiḥ |

akṣevi-mithitaiś cakrair bhagnaiś ca bahudhā yugaiḥ ||

সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে—তাত ভূমি যুদ্ধৰ ধ্বংসাৱশেষে ছেয়ে গৈছিল—উপকৰণ আৰু সামগ্ৰী, ৰথৰ আসন, ঈষাদণ্ড আৰু দণ্ড, বন্ধুৰ, চূৰ্ণ অক্ষ, ভাঙা চক্র আৰু নানাভাৱে ভগ্ন যুগে।

उपस्करैःwith equipment/implements
उपस्करैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootउपस्कर
FormNeuter, Instrumental, Plural
अधिष्ठानैःwith platforms/seats (of chariots)
अधिष्ठानैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootअधिष्ठान
FormNeuter, Instrumental, Plural
ईषादण्डकबन्धुरैःwith pole-shafts, small rods, and yoke-pins (chariot parts)
ईषादण्डकबन्धुरैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootईषा-दण्डक-बन्धुर
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
अक्षेभिःwith axles
अक्षेभिः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootअक्ष
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
विमिथितैःshattered/crushed
विमिथितैः:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootवि-मथ्
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural, क्त (past passive participle)
चक्रैःwith wheels
चक्रैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootचक्र
FormNeuter, Instrumental, Plural
भग्नैःbroken
भग्नैः:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootभञ्ज्
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural, क्त (past passive participle)
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
बहुधाin many ways / variously
बहुधा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootबहुधा
युगैःwith yokes
युगैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootयुग
FormNeuter, Instrumental, Plural

संजय उवाच

S
Sanjaya
E
earth/ground (pṛthivī implied)
C
chariot equipment (upaskara)
C
chariot-platform (adhiṣṭhāna)
C
chariot-pole/drawbar (īṣā)
S
shafts/rods (daṇḍaka)
C
chariot structural parts (bandhura)
A
axles (akṣa)
W
wheels (cakra)
Y
yokes (yuga)

Educational Q&A

The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war by focusing on its aftermath: the battlefield is not portrayed as heroic spectacle but as a landscape of shattered instruments and broken order. It implicitly warns that violence reduces even the proud machinery of power to debris, reminding the listener of impermanence and the cost borne by all.

Sanjaya, narrating the Kurukṣetra war, describes the ground covered with broken chariot components—platforms, poles, axles, wheels, and yokes—indicating intense fighting and widespread destruction in the Drona Parva episode.