Shloka 13

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

छिन्नत्रिवेणुचक्राक्षान्‌ हतयोधाश्वसारथीन्‌

Transliteration

chinna-triveṇu-cakrākṣān hata-yodhāśva-sārathīn

Translation

संजय बोले—जिनके रथों के धुरे, ध्वजदण्ड/दण्ड और चक्र-धुरे टूट चुके थे, और जिनके योद्धा, घोड़े तथा सारथी मारे गए—उन्हें उसने काट गिराया; रथ को निष्क्रिय कर, फिर मनुष्य और पशु-बल को भी नष्ट कर दिया।

Word by Word

• छिन्नत्रिवेणुचक्राक्षान्: whose tri-veṇu wheels and axles were cut/broken
• छिन्नत्रिवेणुचक्राक्षान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिन्न-त्रिवेणु-चक्र-अक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• हतयोधाश्वसारथीन्: whose warriors, horses, and charioteers were slain
• हतयोधाश्वसारथीन्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत-योध-अश्व-सारथि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• chariot (ratha) components: pole/shafts, wheels, axles
• warriors
• horses
• charioteers

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse does not offer a direct moral injunction; it highlights the grim mechanics of dharma-yuddha as narrated in the epic—victory is pursued by disabling the enemy’s chariots and then eliminating the fighters and support (horses, charioteers). It implicitly raises the ethical weight of warfare: efficiency in combat entails comprehensive destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a phase of intense fighting in which an unnamed combatant (contextually, the principal warrior being described in the surrounding verses) breaks enemy chariot parts—poles/shafts, wheels, and axles—and kills the associated warriors, horses, and charioteers, indicating rout and devastation among chariot-borne troops.