Shloka 21
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
ईषा नक्षत्रवंशश्व॒ युग: कृतयुगो5भवत्
īṣā nakṣatravaṃśaś ca yugaḥ kṛtayugo 'bhavat | nakṣatrāṇāṃ samūha īṣādaṇḍo babhūva ca | vāsukir nāgarājo 'sya rathasya kūbaro 'bhavat | himavān apaskaro 'bhūd vindhyaś cādhārakāṣṭhavat | udayācalaś cāstācalaś ca tayor devair mahātmabhiḥ | cakrapratiṣṭhākāṣṭhāni kṛtāni rathasaṃyuge ||
Duryodhana berkata: “Tiang kereta kosmik itu menjadi garis gugusan bintang, dan kuknya mengambil rupa Kṛta-yuga. Himpunan bintang-bintang menjadi tongkat tiang. Vāsuki, raja para nāga, menjadi pasak kuk kereta itu. Himalaya menjadi palang belakang, dan Vindhya menjadi alang penyokong. Udayācala dan Astācala dibentuk oleh para makhluk ilahi yang mulia itu menjadi kayu penyangga tempat roda dipasang.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses cosmic-chariot imagery to magnify a martial enterprise by mapping parts of a chariot onto the universe (stars, yugas, mountains, serpent-king). Ethically, it reflects how power and ambition can seek legitimacy through grand mythic symbolism—an epic reminder that rhetorical grandeur does not itself establish dharma.
Duryodhana describes a wondrous, cosmic-scale chariot construction: constellations become the pole, the Kṛta-yuga becomes the yoke, Vāsuki becomes the fastening pin, and great mountains become structural timbers and wheel-bases. The passage functions as an elevated description (utprekṣā-like) to intensify the scene’s mythic atmosphere in the Karṇa Parva war context.