Shloka 6
Dvārakā’s Distress and the Saubha Engagement (द्वारकाव्यग्रता तथा सौभयुद्धम्)
इति तस्य निशम्याहं सारथे: करुणं वच: । अवेक्षमाणो यन्तारमपश्यं शरपीडितम्,सारथिका यह करुण वचन सुनकर मैंने उसकी ओर देखा। उसे बाणोंद्वारा बड़ी पीड़ा हो रही थी
iti tasya niśamyāhaṃ sārathēḥ karuṇaṃ vacaḥ | avekṣamāṇo yantāram apaśyaṃ śarapīḍitam ||
Hearing those pitiful words of the charioteer, I looked toward the driver. As I watched, I saw him grievously afflicted—tormented by arrows. The scene underscores the moral weight of violence: even those who serve and do not seek combat become unintended sufferers, calling forth compassion and a sense of responsibility in the witness.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights karuṇā (compassion) and ethical awareness: suffering in conflict spreads beyond principal fighters, and the observer is morally called to recognize and respond to the pain of even subordinate, duty-bound persons like a charioteer.
Vāyudeva says that after hearing the charioteer’s sorrowful words, he turns his attention to the driver and sees him wounded and distressed, pierced or tormented by arrows—an immediate, vivid depiction of battlefield-like harm.