Shloka 16

Devanagari script

स भग्नहयचक्राक्षाद्‌ विशीर्णध्वजकूबरात्‌ । उत्पपात रथात्‌ तूर्ण मायामास्थाय राक्षसीम्‌,जिसके घोड़े, पहिये और धुरे नष्ट हो गये थे, ध्वज और कूबर बिखर गये थे, उस रथसे अलायुध राक्षसी मायाका आश्रय लेकर तुरंत ही ऊपरको उड़ गया

Transliteration

sa bhagnahayacakrākṣād viśīrṇadhvajakūbarāt | utpapāta rathāt tūrṇaṃ māyām āsthāya rākṣasīm ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Lorsque son char fut mis en pièces — les chevaux, les roues et l’essieu brisés, l’étendard et le joug disloqués — Alāyudha en bondit aussitôt, se réfugiant dans la māyā, l’illusion des rākṣasas, et s’éleva d’un seul élan.

Word by Word

सःhe

भग्न-हय-चक्र-अक्षात्from (a chariot) whose horses, wheels and axle were broken

विशीर्ण-ध्वज-कूबरात्from (a chariot) whose banner and pole/top-structure were shattered

उत्पपातleapt up / sprang

रथात्from the chariot

तूर्णम्swiftly

मायाम्illusion, magical power

आस्थायhaving resorted to / having assumed

राक्षसीम्demonic, rakshasi-like

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Alāyudha

ratha (chariot)

haya (horses)

cakra (wheels)

akṣa (axle)

dhvaja (banner/standard)

kūbara (yoke/chariot-pole)

rākṣasī māyā (demonic illusion)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical contrast: when conventional martial strength collapses, a rākṣasa-like warrior may resort to māyā (deceptive illusion) to survive or continue fighting. In the Mahābhārata’s moral landscape, such reliance on delusion is often set against ideals of straightforward valor and dharmic conduct in battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Alāyudha’s chariot is wrecked—horses, wheels, and axle destroyed, banner and yoke scattered—so he quickly abandons it and springs upward, employing rākṣasa-style magical illusion (māyā) as a means of escape or tactical advantage.