Shloka 40

Devanagari script

|| सो5वतीर्य रथोपस्थाद्धताश्वो हतसारथि:

Transliteration

so’vatīrya rathopasthād dhatāśvo hatasārathiḥ

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。やがて彼は戦車の台から降りた――馬は討たれ、御者も斃れ――戦の支えを失い、ただ独り立ち尽くした。

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अवतीर्य: having descended
• अवतीर्य: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-तॄ
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• रथोपस्थात्: from the chariot-seat
• रथोपस्थात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ + उपस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• हताश्वः: whose horses were slain
• हताश्वः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत + अश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हतसारथिः: whose charioteer was slain
• हतसारथिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत + सारथि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• chariot (ratha)
• horses (aśva)
• charioteer (sārathi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in heroic warfare, a warrior’s strength relies on others—horses, charioteer, and the ordered functioning of roles. When these supports are destroyed, power collapses, highlighting impermanence and the ethical weight of violence that harms not only combatants but all who sustain the battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a warrior, after losing both horses and charioteer, is forced to dismount from the chariot. The verse marks a sudden tactical and psychological reversal: the fighter is left exposed and must continue on foot or seek another conveyance.