Shloka 31
अभिमन्यु-परिवेष्टनम्
Encirclement and Counterassault of Abhimanyu
अभिमन्युके द्वारा कौरव-सेनाके प्रमुख वीरोंका संहार गन्धर्वनगराकारान् विधिवत् कल्पितान् रथान् । वीषामुखान द्वित्रिवेणून् न्यस्तदण्डकबन्धुरान्,इसी प्रकार अभिमन्यु अपने बाणोंसे शत्रुओंके गन्धर्वनगरके समान विशाल तथा विधिपूर्वक सुसज्जित बहुसंख्यक रथोंके टुकड़े-टुकड़े करता हुआ सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें दृष्टिगोचर हो रहा था। उन रथोंके प्रधान ईषादण्ड नष्ट हो गये थे। त्रिवेणु चूर-चूर हो गये थे। स्तम्भदण्ड उखड़ गये थे। उसके बन्धन टूट गये थे। जंघा (नीचेका स्थान) और कूबर (जूएका आधारभूत काष्ठ) टूट-फ़ूट गये थे। पहियोंके ऊपरी भाग और अरे चौपट कर दिये गये थे। पहिये, रथकी सजावटके समान और बैठकें नष्ट-भ्रष्ट हो गयी थीं। सारी सामग्री तथा रथके अवयव चूर-चूर हो गये थे। रथकी छतरी और आवरणको गिरा दिया गया था तथा उन रथोंके समस्त योद्धा मार डाले गये थे। इस तरह सहसोरों रथोंकी धज्जियाँ उड़ गयी थीं
sañjaya uvāca | abhimanyunā kṛtvā kaurava-senāyāḥ pramukha-vīrāṇāṃ saṃhāraṃ gandharva-nagarākārān vidhivat kalpitān rathān | īṣāmukhān dvi-tri-veṇūn nyasta-daṇḍaka-bandhurān | evaṃ sa abhimanyuḥ śarair ariṇāṃ gandharva-nagaropamān vipulān vidhivat susajjitān bahusaṅkhyān rathān diśaḥ sarvāḥ pradarśayan khaṇḍaśaḥ cakāra | teṣāṃ pradhānā īṣā-daṇḍā vinaṣṭāḥ | tri-veṇavaś cūrṇitāḥ | stambha-daṇḍā utkṣiptāḥ | bandhanāni bhagnāni | jaṅghāḥ kūbarāś ca bhagnāḥ | cakra-śīrṣāṇy arāś ca vidhvastāḥ | cakrāṇi ratha-bhūṣaṇāni āsanāni ca vinaṣṭāni | sarvā sāmagrī rathāvayavāś ca cūrṇitāḥ | chatraṃ āvaraṇaṃ ca pātitam | sarve yoddhāś ca hatāḥ | evaṃ sahasraśo rathānāṃ dhvajjā uḍḍīyante sma ||
Sañjaya said: Abhimanyu, having cut down the foremost heroes of the Kaurava host, shattered their many chariots—vast and carefully arrayed like a celestial Gandharva-city—into fragments. The chariots’ yoke-tips and principal shafts were broken; their triple-poles were splintered; posts and supports were torn away; bindings snapped; the lower frames and yoke-bases cracked; wheel-rims and spokes were crushed; ornaments and seats were ruined; every fitting and component was ground to pieces. Their parasols and coverings were cast down, and the warriors upon them were slain. Thus, by Abhimanyu’s arrows, thousands of chariots were reduced to wreckage in every direction, displaying the terrible momentum of battle and the stark cost of martial prowess when dharma is contested on the field.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the double-edged nature of kṣatriya prowess: disciplined skill and courage can be awe-inspiring, yet war rapidly turns splendor into ruin. Ethically, it underscores how contested dharma on the battlefield produces immense material and human destruction, urging reflection on the cost of victory.
Sañjaya describes Abhimanyu’s onslaught: he kills leading Kaurava fighters and pulverizes thousands of well-equipped chariots. The narration itemizes chariot parts being broken—shafts, supports, bindings, wheels, spokes, ornaments—while parasols and coverings fall and the chariot-warriors are slain.