Shloka 20
अध्याय ४ — दुर्योधनस्य असंधि-निश्चयः
Duryodhana’s Refusal of Reconciliation
श्वेताक्ष॒ वेगसम्पन्ना: शशिकाशसमप्रभा: । पिबन्त इव चाकाशं रथे युक्तास्तु वाजिन:
śvetākṣa vegasampannāḥ śaśikāśasamaprabhāḥ | pibanta iva cākāśaṃ rathe yuktās tu vājinaḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Les chevaux attelés au char avaient les yeux clairs, une vitesse prodigieuse, et une blancheur rayonnante comme la lune et les pâles fleurs de kāśa. Ils s’élançaient si vite qu’on eût dit qu’ils allaient boire le ciel lui-même — image qui accroît l’intensité de la scène guerrière et la stupeur devant la puissance des armes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than didactic: it underscores how overwhelming martial force and momentum can appear in war. Ethically, it functions as a reminder that the battlefield dazzles with power and spectacle, yet such brilliance is instrumental—serving the larger, morally fraught conflict rather than constituting virtue by itself.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes the chariot’s horses: white-eyed, extremely swift, and shining like the moon and kāśa blossoms. Their speed is hyperbolically portrayed as if they could 'drink the sky,' intensifying the sense of rapid advance and battlefield grandeur.