Shloka 41

Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)

Devanagari script

हताश्वो विरथश्रैव विवर्मा च विशाम्पते

Transliteration

hatāśvo virathaś caiva vivarmā ca viśāmpate

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O lord of the people, he was left with his horses slain, his chariot lost, and his armour stripped away—reduced to helpless exposure amid the violence of battle.”

Word by Word

• हताश्वः: whose horses are slain (horse-less)
• हताश्वः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हताश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विरथः: without a chariot (chariot-less)
• विरथः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विरथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• विवर्मा: without armor (disarmed)
• विवर्मा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विवर्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• विशाम्पते: O lord of the people
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाम्पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address viśāmpate)
• horses
• chariot
• armour

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how quickly martial power can collapse: when the supports of strength (steeds, chariot, armour) are lost, a warrior becomes exposed. Ethically, it highlights the precariousness of worldly advantage and the stark vulnerability produced by war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior has been rendered battle-disabled—his horses killed, his chariot gone, and his armour removed—signaling a decisive turn in the combat situation and the warrior’s immediate peril.