Karna Parva Adhyaya 94 Shloka 9 - Mahabharata | German | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 9

Devanagari script

यशस्विभिरनागरथाश्व॒योधिभि: पदातिभि श्चाभिमुखैह्तै: परै: । विशीर्णवर्माभरणाम्बरायुधै- ता प्रशान्तैरिव तावकैर्मही

Transliteration

yaśasvibhir anāgārathāśvayodhibhiḥ padātibhiś cābhimukhaiḥ hataiḥ paraiḥ | viśīrṇavarmābharaṇāmbarāyudhaiḥ tāḥ praśāntair iva tāvakair mahī ||

Translation

Śalya sprach: „Deine ruhmreichen Krieger—Kämpfer auf Elefanten, Wagen und Pferden sowie die Fußsoldaten—sind vom Feind erschlagen worden, während sie ihm im Kampf gegenüberstanden. Ihre Rüstungen, Schmuckstücke, Gewänder und Waffen liegen zerschmettert und verstreut. So ist die Erde bedeckt, als wäre sie in Schweigen erstarrt, von deinen leblosen Truppen.“

Word by Word

यशस्विभिःby/with the glorious (warriors)

अनागरथाश्वयोधिभिःby those who fight on elephants, chariots, and horses

पदातिभिःby foot-soldiers

चand

अभिमुखैःby those facing (the foe), head-on

हतैःby the slain / having been slain

परैःby the enemies

विशीर्णवर्माभरणाम्बरायुधैःwith shattered armor, ornaments, garments, and weapons

प्रशान्तैःstilled, quiet, lifeless

इवas if, like

तावकैःby your (men), belonging to you

महीthe earth

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śalya

Kaurava troops (tāvakāḥ)

enemy forces (parāḥ)

earth (mahī)

elephants

chariots

horses

infantry

armor

ornaments

garments

weapons

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the stark impermanence of martial glory: even celebrated warriors end as silent bodies on the earth, with their splendid armor and weapons reduced to debris. It invites ethical reflection on the cost of war and the fragility of worldly honor.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya addresses the Kaurava side, describing the battlefield aftermath: Kaurava fighters—mounted and on foot—have been killed while confronting the enemy, and the ground is strewn with their broken equipment and lifeless bodies.