Shloka 28

Devanagari script

व्यश्वसूतरथं चक्रे सव्यसाची परंतप:

Transliteration

vyaśvasūtarathaṃ cakre savyasācī parantapaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Arjuna, the ambidextrous master of the bow and a scorcher of foes, reduced the enemy’s horse, charioteer, and chariot to ruin—an image of decisive martial skill employed in the grim, duty-bound violence of war.

Word by Word

व्यश्वसूतरथम्the chariot with horses and charioteer (i.e., fully equipped chariot)

चक्रेmade / rendered

सव्यसाचीArjuna (the ambidextrous archer)

परंतपःthe scorcher of foes (epithet)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Arjuna (Savyasācī)

enemy chariot (ratha)

charioteer (sūta)

horses (aśva)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined martial excellence within the harsh framework of kṣatriya-duty: in war, decisive action and skill are exercised not as personal cruelty but as the grim execution of one’s role in a righteous conflict as presented by the epic’s narrative voice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Arjuna, famed as Savyasācī, strikes so effectively that the opponent’s chariot-unit—its horses, charioteer, and chariot—is rendered ruined or disabled, signaling a turning point in that immediate combat exchange.