Shloka 18
Kṛtavarmā–Sātyaki Chariot Duel and Kaurava Morale Shock (कृतवर्म-सात्यकि-द्वैरथम्)
सतं रथं हेमविभूषिताडूं साश्वं ससूतं सहसा विमृद्य । उत्क्षिप्प हस्तेन नदन् महाद्विपो विपोथयामास वसुन्धरातले
sa taṁ rathaṁ hemavibhūṣitāṅgaṁ sāśvaṁ sasūtaṁ sahasā vimṛdya | utkṣipya hastena nadan mahādvipo vipothayāmāsa vasundharātale ||
Sañjaya sprach: Der große Elefant, laut trompetend, zerquetschte plötzlich Dhṛṣṭadyumnas goldgeschmückten Wagen samt Pferden und Wagenlenker. Dann hob er ihn mit dem Rüssel empor und schleuderte ihn mit Gewalt auf die Erdoberfläche. Die Szene betont den brutalen Schwung des Krieges, in dem Kraft und Wut selbst die feinste kriegerische Pracht in einem Augenblick vernichten können.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impermanence of worldly power and splendor in the chaos of battle: even a gold-adorned chariot and its crew can be destroyed in a moment by overwhelming force. Ethically, it reflects the harsh reality of kṣatriya warfare, where courage and might operate within a tragic field of destruction.
Sañjaya describes a great elephant that, while trumpeting, suddenly tramples Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s gold-decorated chariot along with the horses and charioteer, then lifts it with its trunk and smashes it onto the ground.