Shloka 30
अध्याय २६ — शल्यस्य सारथ्य-नियोजनं, कर्णस्य प्रस्थानं, उत्पातदर्शनं च
Chapter 26: Śalya appointed as charioteer; Karṇa’s departure; portents
अक्षाणामथ चक्राणां योक्त्राणां रश्मिभि: सह । कूबराणां वरूथाणां पूषत्कानां च संयुगे
akṣāṇām atha cakrāṇāṁ yoktrāṇāṁ raśmibhiḥ saha | kūbarāṇāṁ varūthānāṁ pūṣatkānāṁ ca saṁyuge
Sañjaya berkata: “Dalam pertempuran itu, as roda dan roda-roda, kuk beserta tali kendali, palang-palang, pelindung-pelindung, dan penjaga kereta pun—semuanya remuk dan tercabik di tengah benturan. Pemandangan itu menegaskan: perang bukan hanya menghantam para kesatria; ia juga menghancurkan penopang dan sarana yang mengusung maksud manusia, memperlihatkan kebinasaan yang tak pandang bulu.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the indiscriminate destructiveness of war: not only people but also the supports and instruments of action (chariots and their fittings) are broken. Ethically, it invites reflection on how conflict consumes both ends and means, leaving ruin in its wake.
Sañjaya is narrating the intensity of the fighting in the Karṇa Parva. The clash is so fierce that chariot components—axles, wheels, yokes, reins, poles, and protective fittings—are being smashed and torn apart on the battlefield.