Shloka 13
Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption
हताश्वसूतमुत्सूज्य सरथं पतितध्वजम्
hatāśvasūtam utsṛjya sarathaṁ patitadhvajam
サンジャヤは言った。馬も御者も討たれながら、車体だけはなお具足をつけて立っていたその戦車を、彼は捨て去った――旗印は倒れ、もはや名誉も用も失った戦車である。ここには戦場の掟が示される。戦う手段が破れ、その守り手が死したなら、武士は機能と威厳を失った象徴に執着せず、破れた乗り物から退くべきなのである。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a practical and ethical point of kṣatriya conduct: when one’s chariot is effectively neutralized—its horses and charioteer slain and its banner fallen—continuing to rely on it is futile and dishonourable; a warrior must adapt, withdraw, or seek another means rather than cling to a broken instrument of war.
Sañjaya describes a combatant leaving behind a chariot that has been crippled in battle: the horses and the charioteer are dead, and the standard has fallen, marking the chariot’s loss of effectiveness and prestige.