Shloka 25

Devanagari script

रथांश्व बहुधा भग्नान्‌ हेमकिड्किणिन: शुभान्‌

Transliteration

rathāṁśvān bahudhā bhagnān hemakiṅkiṇinaḥ śubhān

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Many chariots and horses—splendid, adorned with golden bells—were seen shattered in various ways.”

Word by Word

• रथान्: chariots
• रथान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अश्वान्: horses
• अश्वान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• बहुधा: in many ways; variously
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुधा

• भग्नान्: broken; shattered
• भग्नान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भग्न
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• हेमकिङ्किणिनः: having golden bells (gold-belled)
• हेमकिङ्किणिनः: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हेमकिङ्किणिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• शुभान्: splendid; auspicious; beautiful
• शुभान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• chariots
• horses
• golden bells (kiṅkiṇī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the stark impermanence of martial splendor: even richly adorned war-gear and noble steeds are reduced to ruin in battle, reminding the listener that external grandeur cannot withstand the consequences of violence and conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield scene in the Karṇa Parva: chariots and horses, once magnificent and decorated with golden bells, have been broken and scattered in the course of the fighting.