Shloka 12

Devanagari script

सतु शकक्‍त्या विभिन्नाज़ो निपपात रथोत्तमात्‌ । लोहिताड़ इवाकाशाद्‌ दीप्तरश्मिर्यद्च्छया,उस शक्तिसे भूरिके सारे अंग विदीर्ण हो गये और वह अपने उत्तम रथसे नीचे गिर पड़ा, मानो दैववश प्रदीप्त किरणोंवाला मंगलग्रह आकाशसे नीचे गिर गया हो

Transliteration

sa tu śaktyā vibhinnāṅgo nipapāta rathottamāt | lohitāṅga ivākāśād dīptaraśmir yadṛcchayā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Struck by the spear, his limbs were torn and he fell down from his excellent chariot. It was as though, by the force of fate, the red-hued planet Mars—radiant with blazing rays—had dropped from the sky. The image underscores the terrible inevitability of war: even the mighty, shining with power and pride, can be brought down in an instant when destiny and violence converge.

Word by Word

साshe/that (weapon)

तुbut/indeed

शक्त्याby/with the spear (shakti-weapon)

विभिन्नःpierced, split

अजःthe goat (name/epithet: Aja)

निपपातfell down

रथोत्तमात्from the excellent chariot

लोहिताङ्गःhaving a red body (Mars)

इवlike/as if

आकाशात्from the sky

दीप्तरश्मिःwith blazing rays

यदृच्छयाby chance/accidentally

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

śakti (spear/javelin)

ratha (chariot)

Lohitāṅga (Mars)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of worldly power in war: brilliance and status can collapse instantly under violence and the workings of fate, reminding the listener of impermanence and the moral gravity of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

A warrior is pierced by a śakti (spear), his body is grievously torn, and he falls from his chariot; Sañjaya compares this sudden fall to the planet Mars, radiant and red, seeming to drop from the sky by destiny.