Shloka 12
Nakula’s Engagement with Citra-sena and Karṇa’s Sons; Śalya Re-stabilizes the Kaurava Host
हयाशक्ष् पर्यधावन्त चामरैरुपशोभिता: । हंसा हिमवत: प्रस्थे पिबन्त इव मेदिनीम्
hayāś ca paryadhāvanta cāmarair upaśobhitāḥ | haṃsā himavataḥ prasthé pibanta iva medinīm ||
Sañjaya said: The horses, adorned with yak-tail fans, were racing about on all sides at great speed—like swans dwelling on the broad plateaus of the Himālaya, swooping down as if to drink from the earth. The image heightens the war-scene’s splendor and urgency, showing how martial display and swift movement can mask the grave ethical weight of the battle that is unfolding.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than doctrinal: it contrasts outward magnificence (horses adorned with cāmaras) with the intense motion of war. Implicitly, it reminds the listener that dazzling martial display and speed do not lessen the ethical gravity of violence; they only heighten the scene’s urgency and the stakes of dharma in action.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield activity: horses, decorated with royal whisks, are charging and racing in all directions. He uses a vivid simile—swans from the Himālaya’s plateaus swooping down as if to drink from the earth—to convey their swift, sweeping movement.