Shloka 7

Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)

Devanagari script

कूबरं रथचक्राणि ईषा योक्‍्त्राणि वा विभो

Transliteration

kūbaraṃ rathacakrāṇi īṣā yoktrāṇi vā vibho

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O Mächtiger, (dort lagen) der Deichselkasten des Wagens (kūbara), die Wagenräder, die Achsstange und auch die Riemen des Geschirrs.“ Die Zeile beschwört das harte Nachbild des Schlachtfeldes herauf, wo die Werkzeuge des Krieges—die den Krieger in seiner Pflicht nach dem Dharma tragen sollten—zerbrochen und zerstreut daliegen und so den Preis und die Zerbrechlichkeit martialischer Macht zeigen, wenn Dharma im Verderben geprüft wird.

Word by Word

• कूबरम्: the pole/shaft (of a chariot)
• कूबरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूबर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• रथचक्राणि: chariot-wheels
• रथचक्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथचक्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• ईषा: the yoke-pole/drawbar
• ईषा: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईषा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• योक्त्राणि: yoke-straps/fastenings
• योक्त्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: योक्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• विभो: O mighty one
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• chariot (ratha)
• chariot wheels (cakra)
• kūbara (chariot pole-box)
• īṣā (axle-pole/shaft)
• yoktra (harness-straps)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how the material supports of power—chariots, wheels, harness—can be reduced to wreckage in war, reminding the listener that prowess and equipment are impermanent; dharma must be upheld with discernment, not mere reliance on force.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing battlefield details to the listener, listing scattered or damaged chariot components—kūbara, wheels, axle/shaft, and harness—suggesting the aftermath of intense fighting and the breakdown of war-machinery.