Shloka 8
निकृत्तचक्रेषुयुगै: सयोक्तृभि: प्रविद्धतृणीरपताककेतुभि: । सुवर्णजालावततैर्भशाहतै- महारथौचैर्जलदैरिवावृता
nikṛttacakreṣuyugaiḥ sayoktṛbhiḥ praviddhatṛṇīrapatākaketubhiḥ | suvarṇajālāvatataiḥ bhṛśāhataiḥ mahārathaucchaiḥ jaladair ivāvṛtāḥ ||
Śalya sprach: „Das Schlachtfeld ist nun bedeckt, als lägen Wolken darüber, von Massen hochragender großer Wagen—deren Räder, Deichseln, Joche und Geschirre abgehauen sind; deren Lenker noch bei ihnen sind; deren Köcher fortgeschleudert liegen; deren Banner, Fähnchen und Standarten gestürzt sind. Einst mit goldenen Netzen behängt, sind diese Wagen nun schwer zerschmettert.“
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of martial splendor: even chariots adorned with gold and lofty standards are reduced to wreckage. It implicitly warns against pride in power and ornament, reminding the listener that war swiftly strips away external grandeur and exposes the stark cost of violence.
Śalya describes the battlefield after intense fighting: great chariots lie scattered and disabled—wheels and yoking parts severed, quivers and flags thrown down, and once-gilded vehicles badly battered. The mass of ruined chariots is compared to clouds covering the field, conveying the scale of devastation.