Shloka 266

Devanagari script

रथं विशकलीकर्तु समारब्धौ विशाम्पते । राजन! प्रजानाथ! उन दोनों भाइयोंने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंद्वारा नकुलके रथके टुकड़े-टुकड़े करनेकी चेष्टा आरम्भ की

Transliteration

rathaṁ viśakalīkartuṁ samārabdhau viśāmpate | rājan prajānātha |

Translation

Sañjaya said: O lord of the people, O king, protector of your subjects—those two brothers set about trying to shatter Nakula’s chariot into fragments, launching their bent-knot (crooked-jointed) arrows to break it apart. The scene underscores the ruthless precision of battlefield tactics, where disabling a warrior’s vehicle becomes a direct assault on his capacity to fight and survive.

Word by Word

• रथम्: chariot
• रथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• विशकलीकर्तुम्: to cut into pieces, to shatter
• विशकलीकर्तुम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: विशकलीकृ
• Form: Infinitive (Tumun), Parasmaipada (usage)

• समारब्धौ: having begun / having set about
• समारब्धौ: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आरभ्
• Form: Past passive participle (kta), Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• विशाम्-पते: O lord of the people
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाम्पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied addressee)
• Nakula
• Two brothers (unnamed in this pāda-context)
• Chariot (ratha)
• Arrows (bāṇa, implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a wartime ethic where strategy often targets an opponent’s means of fighting—here, the chariot—showing how power and skill can be used to incapacitate rather than merely confront. It invites reflection on the moral tension between tactical necessity in dharma-yuddha ideals and the brutal realities of combat.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that two brothers have begun an assault aimed at destroying Nakula’s chariot, using specialized bent or crooked-jointed arrows to break it apart and thereby weaken Nakula’s position in the battle.