Shloka 36
रथैर्भग्नैर्ध्वजैश्छिन्नैनिकृत्तै श्न महायुधै: । चामरैरव्यजनैश्वैव छत्रैश्न सुमहाप्रभै:,राजन! टूटे हुए रथ, कटे हुए ध्वज, छिन्न-भिन्न हुए बड़े-बड़े आयुध, चँवर, व्यजन, अत्यन्त प्रकाशमान छत्र, सोनेके हार, केयूर, कुण्डलमण्डित मस्तक, गिरे हुए शिरोभूषण (पगड़ी आदि), पताका, सुन्दर अनुकर्ष,- जोत और बागडोर आदिसे आच्छादित हुई वह संग्रामभूमि ऐसी जान पड़ती थी, मानो वसन्तऋतुमें उसपर भाँति-भाँतिके फूल गिरे हुए हों
sañjaya uvāca |
rathair bhagnair dhvajaiś chinnai nikṛttaiś ca mahāyudhaiḥ |
cāmarair avyajanaiś caiva chatraiś ca sumahāprabhaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, the battlefield was strewn with shattered chariots, severed banners, and great weapons hewn apart; with fallen chowries and fans, and with splendid, intensely radiant parasols. Thus the ground of war appeared covered over with the proud emblems of warriors—an image that underscores how martial glory, once upheld as honor, is reduced by violence into scattered remnants.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the transience of worldly splendor: royal emblems and heroic display—parasols, banners, and weapons—end as debris on the battlefield. It implicitly critiques attachment to martial glory by showing how quickly honor-symbols become mere wreckage under violence.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra the दृश्य of the battlefield: broken chariots, severed standards, shattered weapons, and fallen ceremonial items like chowries, fans, and radiant parasols scattered everywhere, conveying the scale and devastation of the fighting.