Shloka 16

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 125: Duryodhana’s despair and vow after Jayadratha’s fall (जयद्रथवधे दुर्योधनविलापः)

Devanagari script

नागैश्न बहुधा चिलिन्नैर्ध्वजैश्वेव विशाम्पते

Transliteration

nāgaiś ca bahudhā chinnaiḥ dhvajaiś caiva viśāmpate

Translation

ສັນຊະຍະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ໂອ ຈອມເຈົ້າແຫ່ງມະນຸດ! ທົ່ງຮົບນັ້ນຖືກປົກຄຸມຢູ່ຫຼາຍແຫ່ງດ້ວຍຊ້າງທີ່ຖືກຕັດຂາດ ແລະ ທຸງຊັຍທີ່ຖືກຟັນລົງ—ເປັນເຄື່ອງໝາຍແຫ່ງພະລັງສົງຄາມອັນບໍ່ຢຸດຢັ້ງ ແລະ ການພັງທະລາຍຂອງເຄື່ອງໝາຍອໍານາດພາຍນອກ ທ່າມກາງຄວາມພິນາດຂອງສົງຄາມ».

Word by Word

• नागैः: by/with elephants
• नागैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• बहुधा: in many ways; repeatedly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुधा

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

• छिन्नैः: with cut/broken (ones)
• छिन्नैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिन्न
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• ध्वजैः: with banners/standards
• ध्वजैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्वज
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• इव: as if; like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• विशाम्: of the people/subjects
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• पते: O lord
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• elephants (nāga)
• banners/standards (dhvaja)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the impermanence of worldly power: even royal emblems like banners and mighty war-elephants are reduced to ruin in war, warning that pride in external strength collapses before violence and fate.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: elephants lie cut down and standards are severed in many places, conveying the intensity of the fighting and the disarray of the armies.