Shloka 22
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
कूबरश्न रथस्यासीद् वासुकिर्भुजगोत्तम: । अपस्करमधिष्ठाने हिमवान् विन्ध्यपर्वत: । उदयास्तावधिष्ठाने गिरी चक्कुः सुरोत्तमा:
kūbaraś ca rathasyāsīd vāsukir bhujagottamaḥ | apaskaram adhiṣṭhāne himavān vindhyaparvataḥ | udayāstāv adhiṣṭhāne girayaś cakruḥ surottamāḥ | nakṣatrāṇāṃ samūha īṣādaṇḍaḥ kṛtayugaś ca yūkarūpaṃ dhārayām āsa |
Duryodhana berkata: “Bagi kereta itu, Vāsuki—raja ular, yang terbaik antara para nāga—menjadi kūbara (bahagian kayu utama di hadapan/tengah kereta). Himavān (Himalaya) dan gunung Vindhya menjadi apaskara serta kayu dasar penopang di bahagian belakang. Para dewa yang unggul menjadikan gunung Udaya dan Asta sebagai kayu penyangga bagi roda-roda. Gugusan bintang menjadi galah (īṣā), dan Kṛta Yuga sendiri mengambil rupa sebagai kuk (yoke).”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses cosmic symbolism to show how leaders can frame human conflict as ‘world-order’ or destiny. Ethically, it cautions that grand rhetoric may mask personal ambition: invoking the universe does not by itself establish dharma; actions and motives must still be judged.
Duryodhana describes a magnificent, mythic chariot (or chariot-structure) whose components are formed from cosmic and geographic entities—Vāsuki, the Himalaya and Vindhya, the Udaya and Asta mountains, the stars, and even the Kṛta Yuga—thereby elevating the battle’s imagery to a universal scale.