Shloka 14
रथैव॑रेषून्मथितै: सुकल्पै: सयोधश-्त्रैश्व वरायुधैर्ध्वजै: । विशीर्णयोक्त्रैविनिकृत्तबन्धनै- निकृत्तचक्राक्षयुगत्रिवेणुभि:,सजे-सजाये रथ बाणोंके आघातसे मथ डाले गये हैं। उनके साथ जो योद्धा, शस्त्र, श्रेष्ठ आयुध और ध्वज आदि थे, उनकी भी यही दशा हुई है। उनके पहिये, बन्धनरज्जु, धुरे, जूए और त्रिवेणु काष्ठके भी टुकड़े-टुकड़े हो गये हैं
rathavareṣūnmathitaiḥ sukalpaiḥ sayodhaśastraiś ca varāyudhair dhvajaiḥ | viśīrṇayoktrair vinikṛttabandhanair nikṛttacakrākṣayugatriveṇubhiḥ ||
Śalya said: “Even the finest chariots have been crushed by the impact of arrows—along with their warriors, their weapons, their superior arms, and their banners. Their reins lie torn, their bindings severed; their wheels, axles, yokes, and the tri-veṇu wooden fittings have been cut to pieces.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of worldly power in war: even the best-made instruments of might—chariots, weapons, and standards—are quickly reduced to fragments. It implicitly cautions against pride in material strength and highlights the relentless, consuming nature of battle.
Śalya describes the battlefield aftermath: arrows have smashed elite chariots and everything associated with them—fighters, arms, banners, and key chariot components like reins, bindings, wheels, axles, yokes, and structural wooden fittings—leaving them broken and scattered.