Shloka 13
भग्ननीडैराकुलाश्रैः प्रारुग्णाश्न॒ विशेषत: । भग्नाक्षयुगचक्रैश्व व्याकृष्पन्त समन्तत:,जिनके पार्श्चरक्षक और सारथि मारे गये थे, ध्वजा, पताका और छत्र नष्ट हो गये थे, कूबर टूटकर बिखर गये थे, बैठनेके स्थान चौपट हो चुके थे तथा धुरे, जूए और पहिये भी टूट-फूट गये थे, वैसे रथ भी व्याकुल घोड़ोंसे आकृष्ट हो वहाँ चक्कर लगा रहे थे और उनके द्वारा कुछ विशेष घायल हुए नरेश चारों ओर खिंचे चले जा रहे थे
bhagnanīḍair ākulāśraiḥ prārugṇāś ca viśeṣataḥ | bhagnākṣa-yuga-cakraiś ca vyākṛṣyanta samantataḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “All around, chariots with their fittings shattered—seats and frames broken, axles, yokes, and wheels smashed—were being dragged about in confusion by frantic horses. With their guards and charioteers slain and their standards, banners, and parasols destroyed, some kings, grievously wounded in particular, were pulled helplessly in every direction.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the brutal instability of war: when protectors and drivers fall, even royal power becomes helpless, dragged by uncontrolled forces. It implicitly warns that violence dissolves order and dignity, pressing the listener toward restraint and sober reflection on dharma.
Yudhiṣṭhira describes the battlefield scene: chariots are wrecked—axles, yokes, wheels, and fittings broken—while panicked horses drag them around. Wounded kings, deprived of their attendants and charioteers and stripped of their insignia, are pulled about on all sides amid the confusion.