Shloka 276
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
वैजयन्तीर्विचित्राश्ष हतांक्ष गजवाजिन: । “जिनकी जीभें बाहर निकल आयी हैं
vaijayantīr vicitrāś ca hatāṃś ca gajavājinaḥ |
Sañjaya sprach: Bunt schillernde Vaijayantī-Banner lagen zerschmettert am Boden, und Elefanten wie Pferde waren erschlagen — Zeichen des Verderbens auf dem Schlachtfeld, wo der Stolz der Heere zusammenbricht und der Preis der Gewalt unübersehbar wird.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: even ‘victory’ symbols like banners end up broken, and the might of armies (elephants and horses) lies destroyed—highlighting impermanence and the human responsibility to weigh violence against dharma.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield scene: ornate victory-standards are scattered and shattered, and the war-mounts—elephants and horses—have been killed, conveying the scale of carnage in the Karṇa Parva fighting.