कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
विध्वस्तायुधतूणीरान् समुन्मथितकेतनान् | संछिन्नयोक्त्ररश्मीकान् विवरूथान् विकूबरान्
vidhvastāyudhatūṇīrān samunmathitaketanān | saṁchinnayoktrarasmīkān vivarūthān vikūbarān
Sañjaya berkata: “(Aku melihat) kereta-kereta yang senjata dan tabung anak panahnya hancur, panjinya direntap dengan ganas, kuk dan tali kekangnya diputuskan—kereta yang tinggal tanpa pelindung sewajarnya, dengan tiang dan kelengkapannya patah-berderai.”
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights how war dismantles the very structures meant to uphold controlled, rule-bound combat—when weapons, reins, and standards are destroyed, disciplined action gives way to disorder, revealing the ethical cost and fragility of martial order.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield scene: chariots are seen wrecked—armaments and quivers shattered, banners torn, and the yokes and reins severed—showing the intensity of the fighting in the Karṇa Parva.