Shloka 27
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ कृत्वा चक्रे रथवरोत्तमे | पक्षौ पूर्वापरौ तत्र कृते सत्यहनी शुभे
sūryācandramasau kṛtvā cakre rathavarottame | pakṣau pūrvāparau tatra kṛte satyahanī śubhe ||
Duryodhana berkata: “Pada kereta yang paling unggul itu, Baginda menjadikan Matahari dan Bulan sebagai dua roda; dan di situ Baginda menempatkan pasangan yang cemerlang—siang dan malam—sebagai dua bahagian (yang terdahulu dan yang terkemudian), seolah-olah menegakkan sendiri tertib waktu di atasnya.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses cosmic symbolism to convey overwhelming martial magnificence: by imagining the Sun and Moon as wheels and day–night as paired halves, it frames royal power as aspiring to encompass the very order of time—an image that also hints at the ethical danger of pride when worldly might is equated with cosmic authority.
Duryodhana is describing (in heightened, poetic terms) an extraordinarily splendid chariot, portraying it as so grand that its parts can be likened to celestial bodies and the cycle of day and night, thereby exalting the warrior’s martial presence on the battlefield.