Shloka 196
प्रकीर्णका विप्रकीर्णाश्न॒ राजन् प्रवालमुक्तातरलाश्व हारा: । राजन! हाथीकी पीठपर बिछाये जानेवाले कम्बल या झूल, पताका, वस्त्र, आभूषण, किरीटमाला, उज्ज्वल मुकुट, श्वेत चामर, मूँगे और मोतियोंके हार--से सब-के-सब इधर- उधर बिखरे पड़े हैं
prakīrṇakā viprakīrṇāś ca rājan pravāla-muktā-taralāśva-hārāḥ |
シャリヤは言った。「王よ、すべてが混乱のうちに散り散りに横たわっている——屍も、王権の飾りも同じく。珊瑚と真珠の首飾り、きらめく馬具、そして位階を示す数々の壮麗な徽章が、四方に撒き散らされている。この光景は戦の倫理の真実を告げる。ダルマが捨てられるとき、誇りと華やぎは廃墟へと崩れ、戦いは無差別の破壊へと堕するのだ。」
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of worldly splendor: ornaments and emblems of power become mere debris on the battlefield. It implicitly critiques pride and the pursuit of victory at any cost, reminding the listener that adharma leads to ruin where even royal grandeur is reduced to scattered fragments.
Śalya addresses the king amid the devastation of the Kurukṣetra war, describing how valuable ornaments—coral and pearl necklaces and horse-trappings—are lying scattered everywhere. The description functions as a vivid battlefield report and a moral commentary on the collapse of order and dignity in war.