Shloka 28
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
वारणानां परिस्तोमांस्तथैवाजिनकम्बलान्,“हाथियोंके विचित्र झूल, मृगचर्म और कम्बल चिथड़े-चिथड़े होकर गिरे हैं। चाँदीके तारोंसे चित्रित झूल, अंकुश और अनेक टुकड़ोंमें बँटे हुए बहुत-से घंटे महान् गजराजोंके साथ ही धरतीपर गिरे पड़े हैं
vāraṇānāṁ paristomāṁs tathaivājinakambalān
Sañjaya said: The elephants’ ornate trappings and coverings—along with deer-skins and blankets—were torn to shreds and fell away. Silver-threaded caparisons, goads, and many bells broken into pieces lay scattered on the earth together with the great lordly elephants, marking the ruin and waste that war brings in its wake.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of worldly splendor: even the most magnificent war-elephants and their costly adornments are reduced to torn remnants. It implicitly critiques the vanity of martial display and points to the ethical cost and waste inherent in war.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield aftermath: elephants have fallen, and their ornate coverings—along with hides, blankets, and associated gear like goads and bells—are shredded and strewn across the ground, emphasizing the scale of carnage.