Shloka 18
Jayadrathasya varaprāptiḥ (जयद्रथस्य वरप्राप्तिः) — Jayadratha’s boon and the restraint of the Pāṇḍava advance
सोपस्करैरधिष्ठानैरीषादण्डैश्व बन्धुरै: । अक्षविमिथितैश्नक्रैर्बहुधा पतितैर्युगै:,आवश्यक सामग्री, बैठक, ईषादण्ड, बन्धुर, अक्ष, पहिए और जूए चूर-चूर और टुकड़े- टुकड़े होकर गिरे थे। शक्ति, धनुष, खड़्ग, गिरे हुए विशाल ध्वज, ढाल और बाण भी छिज्न- भिन्न होकर सब ओर बिखरे पड़े थे। प्रजानाथ! बहुत-से क्षत्रिय, घोड़े और हाथी भी मारे गये थे। इन सबके कारण वहाँकी भूमि क्षणभरमें अत्यन्त भयंकर और अगम्य हो गयी थी
sopaskarair adhiṣṭhānair īṣādaṇḍaiś ca bandhuraiḥ | akṣavimithitaiḥ śakrair bahudhā patitair yugaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “There lay scattered the chariot-gear and fittings—its platform and equipment, the pole and shafts, the yokes and fastenings—along with axles and wheels shattered and wrenched apart, and yokes fallen in many pieces. Weapons too—spears, bows, swords—together with great fallen standards, shields, and arrows, were broken and strewn in every direction. O lord of men, many kṣatriyas, horses, and elephants had been slain; and because of all this, the ground there became in an instant exceedingly dreadful and impassable.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the immediate, tangible cost of war: not only lives but the very instruments of power—chariots, weapons, and standards—are reduced to fragments. Ethically, it functions as a sober reminder that martial glory is inseparable from devastation, and that violence rapidly turns a field into a place of fear and inaccessibility.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield after intense fighting: chariots are wrecked, axles and wheels broken, yokes scattered, and weapons and banners lie shattered everywhere. Many warriors, horses, and elephants have fallen, making the terrain suddenly terrifying and difficult to traverse.