Shloka 68

अध्याय ६० — कर्णस्य पाञ्चाल-सोमक-निग्रहः

Karna’s Suppression of the Panchala–Somaka Forces

Devanagari script

पतितैर्निपतद्धिश्व गजैहेमविभूषितै:

Transliteration

patitair nipatadbhir viśvaṃ gajair hemavibhūṣitaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: The whole field seemed overwhelmed by elephants—some already fallen, others still collapsing—adorned with gold ornaments, their splendid trappings now turned into signs of ruin amid the violence of war.

Word by Word

• पतितैः: by/with fallen
• पतितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पतित (√पत्)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• निपतद्भिः: by/with falling down
• निपतद्भिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निपतत् (√पत् with नि-)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• श्वगजैः: by/with dog-elephants (a kind of elephant/elephant-like beasts)
• श्वगजैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वगज
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• हेमविभूषितैः: adorned with gold
• हेमविभूषितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हेम-विभूषित (√भूष्)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• elephants
• gold ornaments

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the impermanence of worldly splendor: even gold-adorned war-elephants, symbols of power and royal might, become helpless in the face of death and the consequences of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where elephants—richly decorated—are lying fallen or are in the act of collapsing, conveying the scale and intensity of the fighting.