Shloka 34

Devanagari script

विप्रहीणरथाश्रैव शरैक्ष॒ परिकर्षिता:

Transliteration

viprahīṇa-rathāś caiva śaraiḥ parikarṣitāḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Deprived of their chariots and dragged about by volleys of arrows, the warriors were thrown into helplessness—an image of how, in war, pride and position collapse when one’s supports are shattered.

Word by Word

• विप्रहीण: deprived of the brahmin (charioteer)
• विप्रहीण: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विप्र-हीन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• रथाश्रैव: as if taking refuge in the chariot / as if chariot-dependent
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: रथ-आश्रय-इव

• शरैः: by arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• परिकर्षिताः: dragged/pulled about; harassed
• परिकर्षिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि-√कृष् (कर्षयति) → परिकर्षित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• chariots
• arrows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of worldly supports in conflict: when the instruments of power (like chariots) are lost, status and confidence quickly dissolve, revealing the harsh ethical cost of war and the vulnerability of embodied life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where fighters, having lost their chariots, are overwhelmed and physically dragged or driven about by showers of arrows, emphasizing the intensity and chaos of the combat.