Shloka 8
निकृत्तचक्रेषुयुगै: सयोक्तृभि: प्रविद्धतृणीरपताककेतुभि: । सुवर्णजालावततैर्भशाहतै- महारथौचैर्जलदैरिवावृता,बड़े-बड़े रथोंके समूह इस रणभूमिमें बादलोंके समान छा गये हैं। उनके पहिये, बाण, जूए और बन्धन कट गये हैं। तरकस, ध्वज और पताकाएँ फेंकी पड़ी हैं; सोनेके जालसे आवृत हुए वे रथ बहुत ही क्षतिग्रस्त हो गये हैं
nikṛttacakreṣuyugaiḥ sayoktṛbhiḥ praviddhatṛṇīrapatākaketubhiḥ | suvarṇajālāvatataiḥ bhṛśāhataiḥ mahārathaucchaiḥ jaladair ivāvṛtāḥ ||
Śalya said: “The battlefield is now covered, as though by clouds, with masses of towering great chariots—whose wheels, shafts, yokes, and harness have been cut away; whose charioteers are still with them; whose quivers lie flung aside; whose banners, pennants, and standards are cast down. Though once draped in golden netting, those chariots have been grievously shattered.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of martial splendor: even chariots adorned with gold and lofty standards are reduced to wreckage. It implicitly warns against pride in power and ornament, reminding the listener that war swiftly strips away external grandeur and exposes the stark cost of violence.
Śalya describes the battlefield after intense fighting: great chariots lie scattered and disabled—wheels and yoking parts severed, quivers and flags thrown down, and once-gilded vehicles badly battered. The mass of ruined chariots is compared to clouds covering the field, conveying the scale of devastation.