Shloka 21
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
चेदि, काशि और करूष देशके चौदह हजार विख्यात महारथी थे। वे उच्चकुलमें उत्पन्न होकर पाण्डवोंके लिये अपना शरीर निछावर कर चुके थे। उनमेंसे कोई भी युद्धमें पीठ दिखानेवाला नहीं था। उन सबकी ध्वजाएँ सोनेकी बनी हुई थीं। मुँह बाये हुए कालके समान भीष्मजीके सामने पहुँचकर वे सब-के-सब महारथी युद्धरूपी समुद्रमें डूब गये। भीष्मजीने घोड़े, रथ और हाथियोंसहित उन सबको परलोकका पथिक बना दिया ।। १८-- २० || भग्नाक्षोपस्करान् कांश्रचिद् भग्नचक्रांश्व भारत । अपश्याम महाराज शतशो5थ सहस्रश:,भरतनन्दन! महाराज! हमने वहाँ सैकड़ों और हजारों ऐसे रथ देखे, जिनके धुरे आदि सामान टूट गये थे और पहियोंके टुकड़े-टुकड़े हो गये थे
bhagnākṣopaskarān kāṁścid bhagnacakrāṁś ca bhārata | apaśyāma mahārāja śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O Bhārata, O great king, we saw there—by the hundreds and even by the thousands—chariots whose axles and fittings had been shattered and whose wheels were broken to pieces. The scene testified to the crushing force of the battle: the proud instruments of war, once symbols of status and prowess, lay ruined, revealing how swiftly martial glory collapses when confronted by overwhelming might and fate.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of worldly power and martial pride: even the finest war-machines and the status they represent can be reduced to wreckage in an instant. It implicitly cautions against attachment to victory and display, reminding the listener that outcomes in war are governed by a mix of human effort and overpowering circumstance (daiva).
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra what he is witnessing on the battlefield: countless chariots lie damaged—axles and fittings shattered, wheels broken—indicating intense fighting and heavy losses, consistent with Bhīṣma’s devastating impact in this phase of the war.