Shloka 98

Devanagari script

त्वया शरशतैश्कछिन्न॑ रथं हेमवि भूषितम्‌ । हतयोधाश्वमुत्सूज्य भीत: शल्य: पलायताम्‌,“आज राजा शल्य भी तुम्हारे सैकड़ों बाणोंसे छिन्न-भिन्न उस सुवर्णविभूषित रथको, जिसके रथी और घोड़े मार डाले गये हों, छोड़कर भयभीत हो भाग जाया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | tvayā śaraśataiś chinnaṁ rathaṁ hemavibhūṣitam | hatayodhāśvam utsṛjya bhītaḥ śalyaḥ palāyatām |

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Dihentam dan dikoyak oleh ratusan anak panahmu, kereta perang yang berhias emas itu—setelah pemandu dan kuda-kudanya terbunuh—ditinggalkan; Śalya, dikuasai ketakutan, melarikan diri.”

Word by Word

त्वयाby you

शरशतैःwith hundreds of arrows

छिन्नम्cut, shattered

रथम्chariot

हेमविभूषितम्adorned with gold

हतयोधाश्वम्whose warriors and horses were slain

उत्सृज्यhaving abandoned

भीतःfrightened

शल्यःShalya

पलायताम्should flee / let him flee

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Śalya

chariot (ratha)

arrows (śara)

gold ornamentation (hema-vibhūṣaṇa)

charioteer

horses

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of martial confidence: when the supports of action (chariot, driver, horses) are destroyed, fear can overtake even the famed. Ethically, it points to how inner steadiness is tested amid chaos, and how battlefield outcomes often turn on both material support and mental resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Śalya’s gold-decorated chariot has been cut to pieces by the opponent’s many arrows; with the charioteer and horses killed, Śalya abandons the wreck and flees in fear.