Shloka 17

Adhyāya 140: Rātriyuddhe Droṇa-prāpti-prayatnaḥ

Night engagement and the attempt to reach Droṇa

Devanagari script

सानुकर्षपताकैश्र द्विपाश्वरथभूषणै: । स्यन्दनैरपविद्धैश्व भग्नचक्राक्षकूबरै:

Transliteration

sānukarṣapatākaiś ca dvipāśvarathabhūṣaṇaiḥ | syandanair apaviddhaiś ca bhagnacakrākṣakūbaraiḥ ||

Translation

サञ्जयは言った。「旗幟をなお掲げ、繋ぎ具の跡を残す戦車が、投げ捨てられて横たわっていた。側護や戦車の飾りを備えたものもあったが、いまは見捨てられ、車輪も車軸も轅も砕け折れている。かくして戦場は、武の驕りの滅びと、暴力がもたらす破滅の速さをまざまざと示していた。」

Word by Word

सानुकर्षपताकैःwith banners/flags dragged along (trailing)

द्विपाश्वरथभूषणैःwith ornaments on both sides of the chariot

स्यन्दनैःwith chariots

अपविद्धैःcast off / thrown away / abandoned

चand

भग्नचक्राक्षकूबरैःwith broken wheels, axles, and poles (chariot-parts)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

syandana (war-chariot)

patākā (banner/flag)

cakra (wheel)

akṣa (axle)

kūbara (chariot-pole/drawbar)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of worldly power and martial splendor: even richly equipped chariots with banners and fittings are quickly reduced to wreckage. It implicitly cautions against pride in force and highlights the inevitable ruin that accompanies violent conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene: numerous war-chariots have been abandoned and lie damaged, their structural parts—wheels, axles, and poles—broken, indicating intense fighting and widespread destruction.