Shloka 21

Devanagari script

तत्र चक्रैविमथितैर्भग्नैश्न परमायुधै:

Transliteration

tatra cakrair vimathitair bhagnaiś ca paramāyudhaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Là, le champ de bataille était labouré et déchiré par les roues des chars, et même les armes les plus parfaites gisaient brisées — image de la force inexorable de la guerre, où l’orgueil des armes s’effondre sous l’élan de la destruction.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र
• Form: indeclinable (locative adverb: 'there')

• चक्रैः: with/by discs (wheels)
• चक्रैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र
• Form: neuter, instrumental, plural

• विमथितैः: crushed/churned/ground down
• विमथितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-मथ्
• Form: neuter, instrumental, plural (past passive participle; agreeing with चक्रैः)

• भग्नैः: broken
• भग्नैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भञ्ज्
• Form: neuter, instrumental, plural (past passive participle; agreeing with चक्रैः)

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: indeclinable (negation)

• परम: supreme, excellent
• परम: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम
• Form: neuter, instrumental, plural (agreeing with आयुधैः; often in compound with it)

• आयुधैः: with weapons
• आयुधैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयुध
• Form: neuter, instrumental, plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• cakra (chariot wheels)
• āyudha (weapons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of worldly power: even ‘supreme weapons’ are broken amid the churn of battle, suggesting that reliance on force and armaments is unstable and ethically sobering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the scene of combat: chariot wheels grind through the field, and weapons are smashed—conveying the intensity and chaos of the fighting in the Droṇa Parva.