Shloka 13

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

छिन्नत्रिवेणुचक्राक्षान्‌ हतयोधाश्वसारथीन्‌

Transliteration

chinna-triveṇu-cakrākṣān hata-yodhāśva-sārathīn

Translation

സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—രഥദണ്ഡങ്ങളും ചക്രാക്ഷങ്ങളും തകർന്നവരെയും, യോദ്ധാക്കളും കുതിരകളും സാരഥികളും ഹതരായവരെയും അവൻ വെട്ടിവീഴ്ത്തി; യുദ്ധവാഹനം അശക്തമാക്കിയ ഉടൻ അതിനെ താങ്ങിയ മനുഷ്യ-മൃഗശക്തിയെയും നശിപ്പിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• छिन्नत्रिवेणुचक्राक्षान्: whose tri-veṇu wheels and axles were cut/broken
• छिन्नत्रिवेणुचक्राक्षान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिन्न-त्रिवेणु-चक्र-अक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• हतयोधाश्वसारथीन्: whose warriors, horses, and charioteers were slain
• हतयोधाश्वसारथीन्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत-योध-अश्व-सारथि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• chariot (ratha) components: pole/shafts, wheels, axles
• warriors
• horses
• charioteers

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse does not offer a direct moral injunction; it highlights the grim mechanics of dharma-yuddha as narrated in the epic—victory is pursued by disabling the enemy’s chariots and then eliminating the fighters and support (horses, charioteers). It implicitly raises the ethical weight of warfare: efficiency in combat entails comprehensive destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a phase of intense fighting in which an unnamed combatant (contextually, the principal warrior being described in the surrounding verses) breaks enemy chariot parts—poles/shafts, wheels, and axles—and kills the associated warriors, horses, and charioteers, indicating rout and devastation among chariot-borne troops.