Shloka 55

Devanagari script

कृत्वा शून्यान्‌ रथोपस्थान्‌ वाजिपृष्ठांक्ष भारत

Transliteration

kṛtvā śūnyān rathopasthān vājipṛṣṭhāṃś ca bhārata

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), nachdem die Standflächen der Streitwagen leer gemacht und die Rücken der Pferde entblößt waren—so dass kein Krieger mehr aufgesessen oder auf dem Wagen postiert bleiben konnte—ging der grimmige Kampf weiter.“

Word by Word

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (त्वान्त), कर्तरि, पूर्वकाले (absolutive)

• शून्यान्: empty, void
• शून्यान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शून्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• रथोपस्थान्: chariot-seats/standing-places (platforms) of chariots
• रथोपस्थान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथोपस्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• वाजिपृष्ठान्: horse-backs
• वाजिपृष्ठान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाजिपृष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: true

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as Bhārata)
• chariot-platforms (rathopasthāna)
• horses (vāji)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the brutal reality of war: skill and force can strip away the very supports of combat—chariots and mounts—reducing warriors to vulnerability. Implicitly, it highlights the ethical weight of choosing war, where even the instruments of protection and status are swiftly nullified.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the fighting has become so intense that chariot positions are left empty and horses’ backs are cleared—suggesting warriors have been slain, unseated, or forced down, and the battle is causing rapid, chaotic losses of men and mounts.