Mahabharata 7.32.206 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 32, Shloka 206

Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam

Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32

Devanagari script

युगार्थ छिन्नमादाय प्रदुद्राव तथा हयः । कितने ही रथ टूट गये, ध्वज कट गये, छत्र पृथ्वीपर गिरा दिये गये और जूए खण्डित हो गये। उन खण्डित हुए आधे जूओंको ही लेकर घोड़े तेजीसे भाग रहे थे

Transliteration

yugārthaṃ chinnam ādāya pradudrāva tathā hayaḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Bien que le joug eût été tranché et brisé, le cheval s’élança, entraînant avec lui le débris qui restait. Dans cette mêlée furieuse, bien des chars furent mis en pièces, des bannières sectionnées, des ombrelles royales (parasols) jetées à terre, et des jougs éclatés ; pourtant les coursiers, poussés par la panique et l’élan, fuyaient encore, avec pour tout fardeau les moitiés brisées du joug qui leur restaient accrochées. La scène montre comment la guerre réduit en ruines les insignes de la royauté et la discipline ordonnée, quand la force déchaînée submerge la volonté humaine.

Word by Word

• युगार्थम्: the yoke-piece (yuga-artham), the yoke-part
• युगार्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: युगार्थ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• छिन्नम्: broken, cut off
• छिन्नम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिन्न
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आदाय: having taken
• आदाय: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + दा
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• प्रदुद्राव: ran forth, rushed away
• प्रदुद्राव: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + द्रु
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular

• तथा: thus, in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• हयः: the horse
• हयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• horse (hayaḥ)
• yoke (yuga)
• chariot (ratha)
• banner/standard (dhvaja)
• parasol/canopy (chatra)
• earth/ground (pṛthivī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of human order and royal prestige in the face of war: banners and parasols—symbols of status and command—fall, and even disciplined war-horses become uncontrollable. Ethically, it points to the dehumanizing momentum of violence, where instruments of power turn into wreckage and fear drives action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes battlefield havoc: chariots are shattered, standards are cut down, parasols drop to the ground, and yokes break. A horse, despite its yoke being severed, runs off rapidly while still dragging the broken piece, illustrating the confusion and devastation of the fighting.