Shloka 61
अष्टचक्रसमायुक्तमास्थाय विपुलं रथम् | शूलमुद्गरधारिण्या शैलपादपहस्तया
aṣṭacakrasamāyuktam āsthāya vipulaṁ ratham | śūlamudgaradhāriṇyā śailapādapahastayā
Sañjaya said: Mounted upon a vast chariot fitted with eight wheels, she advanced—bearing a spear and a mace, with feet like rocky crags and hands that struck like stone. The description heightens the battlefield’s moral tension: war here is not merely human contest but a confrontation with a terrifying, almost elemental force, testing courage, restraint, and steadfastness in dharma amid chaos.
सयजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war magnifies encounters with overwhelming force; the ethical challenge is to maintain courage and discernment without losing one’s grounding in dharma, even when faced with terrifying, dehumanizing violence.
Sañjaya describes a formidable female figure (unnamed in this half-verse) mounting a huge eight-wheeled chariot, armed with spear and mace, portrayed with rock-like feet and crushing hands—an intensification of the battle’s dread and grandeur.