Shloka 41

Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)

Devanagari script

हताश्वो विरथश्रैव विवर्मा च विशाम्पते

Transliteration

hatāśvo virathaś caiva vivarmā ca viśāmpate

Translation

संजय बोले—हे प्रजापति! उसके घोड़े मारे गए, रथ नष्ट हो गया और कवच भी उतर गया; वह रण की हिंसा के बीच असहाय और अनावृत-सा रह गया।

Word by Word

हताश्वःwhose horses are slain (horse-less)

विरथःwithout a chariot (chariot-less)

एवindeed/just

विवर्माwithout armor (disarmed)

चand

विशाम्पतेO lord of the people

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address viśāmpate)

horses

chariot

armour

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 underscores how quickly martial power can collapse: when the supports of strength (steeds, chariot, armour) are lost, a warrior becomes exposed. Ethically, it highlights the precariousness of worldly advantage and the stark vulnerability produced by war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior has been rendered battle-disabled—his horses killed, his chariot gone, and his armour removed—signaling a decisive turn in the combat situation and the warrior’s immediate peril.