Shloka 21
भीष्मरथाभिमुख्यं — Arjuna’s advance with Śikhaṇḍin; Duḥśāsana’s interception
रथिनश्न रथैहीना वर्मिणस्तेजसा युता: । कुण्डलोष्णीषिण: सर्वे निष्काड्दविभूषणा:
sañjaya uvāca |
rathinaś ca rathair hīnā varmiṇas tejasā yutāḥ |
kuṇḍaloṣṇīṣiṇaḥ sarve niṣkāṇḍavibhūṣaṇāḥ ||
サञ्जयは語った。「多くの偉大な戦車武者が戦車を失った。だが彼らは鎧をまとい、武の光に輝き、耳飾りと頭巾を着け、黄金の首飾りと腕輪で身を飾っていた。天界の王子のように美しく、戦場ではインドラのごとき勇猛さを備えながらも、彼らは徒歩で右往左往し、凡人のように走り回る姿を見せた――戦とは、運命と状況がいかにして強者からさえ地位と平静を奪うかを示すのである。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the instability of worldly power in war: even the most splendid and heroic warriors can be reduced to vulnerability when their supports (like chariots and formations) are lost. It highlights impermanence and the humbling force of circumstance, a reminder to ground valor in steadiness rather than external status.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where many renowned chariot-fighters have lost their chariots. Despite still wearing armor and rich ornaments, they are forced to move on foot and scatter, revealing a moment of disarray and reversal amid the Kurukṣetra fighting.