Shloka 196
प्रकीर्णका विप्रकीर्णाश्न॒ राजन् प्रवालमुक्तातरलाश्व हारा: । राजन! हाथीकी पीठपर बिछाये जानेवाले कम्बल या झूल
prakīrṇakā viprakīrṇāś ca rājan pravāla-muktā-taralāśva-hārāḥ |
Śalya sprach: „O König, alles liegt in wirrer Zerstreuung umher—die Leichen ebenso wie die Insignien königlicher Pracht. Halsketten aus Korallen und Perlen, die glitzernden Rossschmuckstücke und die vielen herrlichen Rangabzeichen sind nach allen Seiten hingestreut. Dieses Bild verkündet die sittliche Wahrheit des Krieges: Wird das Dharma verlassen, stürzen Stolz und Prunk in Trümmer, und die Schlacht wird zu unterschiedsloser Vernichtung.“
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of worldly splendor: ornaments and emblems of power become mere debris on the battlefield. It implicitly critiques pride and the pursuit of victory at any cost, reminding the listener that adharma leads to ruin where even royal grandeur is reduced to scattered fragments.
Śalya addresses the king amid the devastation of the Kurukṣetra war, describing how valuable ornaments—coral and pearl necklaces and horse-trappings—are lying scattered everywhere. The description functions as a vivid battlefield report and a moral commentary on the collapse of order and dignity in war.