Shloka 7
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
द्विरदस्यन्दनाश्रे भ्य: पेतुर्वीरा द्विषद्धता: । विमानेभ्यो यथा क्षीणे पुण्ये स्वर्गसदस्तथा,शत्रुओंद्वारा मारे गये वीर हाथी, रथ और घोड़ोंसे उसी प्रकार गिर रहे थे, जैसे स्वर्गवासी जीव पुण्य क्षीण होनेपर वहाँके विमानोंसे नीचे गिर पड़ते हैं श्रुतकर्माणमायान्तं चित्रसेनो महीपति: । प्रतिविन्ध्यस्तथा चित्र चित्रकेतनकार्मुकम् सामने आते हुए श्रुतकर्माको राजा चित्रसेनने रोका तथा प्रतिविंध्यने विचित्र ध्वज और धनुषवाले चित्रका सामना किया
sañjaya uvāca |
dviradasyandanāśrebhyaḥ petur vīrā dviṣaddhatāḥ |
vimānebhyo yathā kṣīṇe puṇye svargasadas tathā ||
śrutakarmāṇam āyāntaṃ citraseno mahīpatiḥ |
prativindhyas tathā citraṃ citraketanakārmukam ||
Sanjaya said: Warriors, struck down by their foes, fell from elephants and chariots, just as dwellers in heaven fall from their celestial cars when their merit is exhausted. Then King Chitrasena checked the advancing Shrutakarman, and Prativindhya confronted Chitra, who bore a variegated banner and a bow—each meeting the other in the ordered fury of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence and karmic causality: even heavenly status is not permanent—when puṇya (merit) is exhausted, one falls. The battlefield image mirrors this moral truth, reminding that worldly and otherworldly attainments are contingent and transient.
Sanjaya describes warriors falling from elephants and chariots under enemy blows, likening their fall to celestial beings dropping from vimānas when merit ends. He then notes specific engagements: King Chitrasena intercepts Shrutakarman, and Prativindhya meets Chitra, marked by a distinctive banner and bow.