Shloka 65
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५९
Arjuna Breaks the Encirclement; Bhīma Reinforces
केतवो5भिनिपात्यन्ते हस्त्यश्वृं च प्रकीर्यते । 'सोने, चाँदी तथा पीतल आदि तैजस द्रव्योंके बने हुए नाना प्रकारके ध्वज काट- काटकर गिराये जा रहे हैं। हाथी और घोड़े तितर-बितर हो गये हैं ।।
ketavo ’bhinipātyante hastyaśvaṁ ca prakīryate | rathebhyaḥ prapatanty ete rathino vigatāsavaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The standards are being struck down and felled; the elephants and horses are scattered in disarray. And these chariot-warriors, their lives departed, are falling from their chariots.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly power and martial glory: banners, mounts, and warriors alike collapse in war. Ethically, it points to the grave human cost of conflict and invites reflection on how adharma-driven violence reduces symbols of honor to mere debris and corpses.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield aftermath: enemy standards are being cut down, elephants and horses are thrown into disorder, and slain chariot-warriors are falling from their chariots—signaling a fierce, decisive phase of combat.