Shloka 17
Śalya-parva Adhyāya 26 — Duryodhana’s remnant formation and rapid engagements
स हत: प्रापतद् भूमौ स्वरथाद् रथिनां वर: । गिरेस्तु कूटजो भग्नो मारुतेनेव पादप:,रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ दुर्विमोचन उस भललकी चोट खाकर अपने रथसे भूमिपर गिर पड़ा, मानो पर्वतके शिखरपर उत्पन्न हुआ वृक्ष वायुके वेगसे टूटकर धराशायी हो गया हो
sa hataḥ prāpatad bhūmau svarathād rathināṃ varaḥ | girestu kūṭajo bhagno māruten eva pādapaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Struck down, the foremost of chariot-warriors fell to the ground from his own chariot. He collapsed like a tree that has grown upon a mountain peak, snapped and brought down by the force of the wind.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the vulnerability of even the greatest warriors: worldly eminence and martial prowess can be overturned in an instant. The mountain-tree simile evokes impermanence and the overpowering momentum of forces (weapon-blow, fate, circumstance) that can fell what seems most firm.
In Sañjaya’s battlefield report, a leading chariot-warrior is struck by an arrow/weapon and falls from his chariot onto the ground, compared to a summit-grown tree snapped by strong wind.