Shloka 29

अध्याय २६ — शल्यस्य सारथ्य-नियोजनं, कर्णस्य प्रस्थानं, उत्पातदर्शनं च

Chapter 26: Śalya appointed as charioteer; Karṇa’s departure; portents

Devanagari script

ध्वजानां छिद्यमानानां कार्मुकाणां च मारिष | रथानां सपताकानां तूणीराणां युगैः सह

Transliteration

dhvajānāṃ chidyamānānāṃ kārmukāṇāṃ ca māriṣa | rathānāṃ sapatākānāṃ tūṇīrāṇāṃ yugaiḥ saha

Translation

サञ्जयは言った。「尊き御方よ、旗は断ち切られ、弓は砕かれ、なお標を掲げた戦車までも打ち壊された。矢筒も、轭（くびき）も、牽く隊とともに滅ぼされたのだ。」

Word by Word

• ध्वजानाम्: of banners/flags
• ध्वजानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्वज
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• छिद्यमानानाम्: being cut
• छिद्यमानानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिद्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural, Present passive participle (शानच्), passive

• कार्मुकाणाम्: of bows
• कार्मुकाणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्मुक
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मारिष: O noble one / O sir
• Type: Noun
• Root: मारिष
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• रथानाम्: of chariots
• रथानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• सपताकानाम्: having banners (bannered)
• सपताकानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-पताका
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• तूणीराणाम्: of quivers
• तूणीराणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तूणीर
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• युगैः: with yokes / by yokes
• युगैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• सह: together with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• dhvaja (banner/standard)
• kārmuka (bow)
• ratha (chariot)
• patākā (flag/pennon)
• tūṇīra (quiver)
• yuga (yoke/chariot-yoke)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the stark impermanence of martial power and equipment: banners, bows, chariots, and even supporting gear are swiftly destroyed in war. It implicitly frames the battlefield as a realm where pride in external might collapses, reminding the listener that outcomes hinge on fate, skill, and the relentless nature of conflict rather than mere display.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the intensity of the fighting in the Karṇa Parva. He describes the battlefield scene where standards are severed, bows are broken, and chariots with their flags, quivers, and yokes are being smashed—conveying the scale and ferocity of the ongoing combat.