Shloka 51
धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca
हयांश्व॒ पतितान् पश्य स्वर्णभाण्डविभूषितान्,सोनेके जीन एवं साज-बाजसे विभूषित इन घोड़ोंको तो देखो, ये भी प्राणशून्य होकर पड़े हैं। ये रथ जिनके स्वामी मारे गये हैं, गन्धर्वनगरके समान दिखायी देते हैं। इनकी ध्वजा, पताका और धुरे छिन्न-भिन्न हो गये हैं, पहिये नष्ट हो चुके हैं और सारथि भी मार डाले गये हैं
hayāṁś ca patitān paśya svarṇabhāṇḍa-vibhūṣitān | rathāś ca yeṣāṁ svāmino hatā gandharva-nagara-saṁnibhāḥ | dhvajāḥ patākāś ca dhurāś ca chinna-bhinnāḥ cakrāṇi naṣṭāni sārathayaś ca nipātitāḥ ||
हयान् च पतितान् पश्य स्वर्णभाण्डविभूषितान् । रथांश्च निहतेश्वरान् गन्धर्वनगरसन्निभान् ॥ छिन्नध्वजपताकांश्च भग्नयुगाक्षविचक्रकान् । हतसारथयश्चैव पश्यैतान् पार्थ सर्वशः ॥
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark impermanence of martial glory: gold-adorned horses and splendid chariots become empty wreckage once life and leadership are gone. The ‘Gandharva-city’ simile underscores how battlefield grandeur can be deceptive—appearing magnificent yet lacking substance—prompting ethical reflection on attachment, pride, and the cost of war even while one performs one’s duty.
Kṛṣṇa draws attention to the devastation on the battlefield: horses lie dead, chariots stand abandoned because their warriors have been slain, and the apparatus of war—flags, banners, yokes, wheels—has been shattered, with charioteers also killed. It is a vivid inventory of collapse meant to make the scene unmistakable to the listener.