Shloka 7

Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)

Devanagari script

कूबरं रथचक्राणि ईषा योक्‍्त्राणि वा विभो

Transliteration

kūbaraṃ rathacakrāṇi īṣā yoktrāṇi vā vibho

Translation

サञ्जयは言った。「おお、力ある者よ、（そこには）戦車の轭箱（クーバラ）、車輪、車軸の杆、そして馬具の革紐までもが散らばっていた。」この一句は戦場の苛烈な余燼を呼び起こす。武人のダルマを支えるはずの戦の器が砕け散り、武の力が、破滅のただ中でダルマが試されるとき、いかに代価高く脆いかを示している。

Word by Word

• कूबरम्: the pole/shaft (of a chariot)
• कूबरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूबर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• रथचक्राणि: chariot-wheels
• रथचक्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथचक्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• ईषा: the yoke-pole/drawbar
• ईषा: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईषा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• योक्त्राणि: yoke-straps/fastenings
• योक्त्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: योक्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• विभो: O mighty one
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• chariot (ratha)
• chariot wheels (cakra)
• kūbara (chariot pole-box)
• īṣā (axle-pole/shaft)
• yoktra (harness-straps)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how the material supports of power—chariots, wheels, harness—can be reduced to wreckage in war, reminding the listener that prowess and equipment are impermanent; dharma must be upheld with discernment, not mere reliance on force.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing battlefield details to the listener, listing scattered or damaged chariot components—kūbara, wheels, axle/shaft, and harness—suggesting the aftermath of intense fighting and the breakdown of war-machinery.