Shloka 5736

Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)

Devanagari script

हियमाणानपश्याम पज्चालानां रथव्रजान्‌ | माननीय नरेश! उस समय हमलोगोंने कितने ही रथियोंको ऐसी अवस्थामें देखा कि उनके रथके पहिये टूट गये हैं, ध्वजा, पताकाएँ छिन्न-भिन्न हो गयी हैं, घोड़े और सारथि मारे गये हैं और उन रथोंके धुरे भी खण्डित हो गये हैं। उस अवस्थामें समूह-के-समूह पांचाल महारथी हमें भागते दिखायी दिये

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

hīyamānān apaśyāma pāñcālānāṁ rathavrajān |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: O ehrwürdiger König, damals sahen wir die Wagenabteilungen der Pañcālas ins Verderben stürzen—viele Wagenkämpfer zur Hilflosigkeit herabgesunken: ihre Räder zerschmettert, Banner und Wimpel zerfetzt, Pferde und Lenker erschlagen, ja selbst die Achsen gebrochen. In diesem Zustand erschienen uns ganze Gruppen pañcālischer Großwagenkämpfer auf der Flucht.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'hīyamānān', 'definition': 'being diminished, declining, falling into ruin

• losing strength and order'}, {'term': 'apaśyāma', 'definition': "we saw (1st person plural imperfect of √paś, 'to see')"}, {'term': 'pāñcālānām', 'definition': 'of the Pañcālas (a people/kingdom allied with the Pāṇḍavas)'}, {'term': 'rathavrajān', 'definition': 'troops/companies (vraja) of chariots (ratha)

• chariot formations'}, {'term': 'rathin', 'definition': 'a chariot-warrior

• one who fights from a chariot'}, {'term': 'cakra', 'definition': 'wheel (of a chariot)'}, {'term': 'dhvaja', 'definition': 'banner, standard'}, {'term': 'patākā', 'definition': 'pennon, flag'}, {'term': 'sārathi', 'definition': 'charioteer'}, {'term': 'aśva', 'definition': 'horse'}, {'term': 'dhur', 'definition': 'yoke/axle-beam

• by extension the axle or supporting timber of the chariot'}, {'term': 'mahārathi', 'definition': 'great chariot-warrior

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'O king')
• Pañcālas
• chariots (ratha)
• chariot-warriors (rathin)
• wheels (cakra)
• banners/standards (dhvaja)
• pennons/flags (patākā)
• horses (aśva)
• charioteers (sārathi)
• axles/yokes (dhur)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage underscores the fragility of martial glory: even elite warriors and proud formations collapse when the supports of action—equipment, coordination, and morale—are destroyed. Ethically, it highlights how war reduces status to vulnerability and turns celebrated power into suffering and flight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pañcāla chariot divisions are being broken: wheels and axles are shattered, banners torn, horses and charioteers killed, and many Pañcāla mahārathas are seen fleeing in groups amid the battlefield chaos.