Shloka 383
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
रेजुरध्वर्युमध्यस्था ज्वलन्त इव पावका: । कान्तिमान् कनकमय मेरुपर्वत रथके ध्वजका दण्ड बना था। बिजलियोंसे विभूषित बादल ही पताकाओंका काम दे रहे थे, जो यजुर्वेदी ऋत्विजोंके बीचमें स्थित हुई अग्नियोंके समान प्रकाशित हो रहे थे
rejur adhvaryu-madhyasthā jvalanta iva pāvakāḥ | kāntimān kanakamayo meru-parvata-rathake dhvajakā daṇḍa-bāṇāḥ | vidyutbhiḥ vibhūṣitā badalāḥ eva patākānāṃ kāryaṃ dadhuḥ, ye yajurvedīya-ṛtvijāṃ madhye sthitā agnaya iva prakāśamānāḥ rejire |
दुर्योधन उवाच—रेजुरध्वर्युमध्यस्था ज्वलन्त इव पावकाः। मेरुपर्वतसदृशे कान्तिमति कनकमये रथे ध्वजदण्डाः शराश्च व्यरोचन्त। विद्युद्भिरलङ्कृताः मेघा एव पताकाभावं दधुः, यजुर्वेदियऋत्विजां मध्ये स्थिताः पावकाः इव प्रकाशमानाः।
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the outward brilliance of power—chariots, banners, and martial display—can resemble the sanctity of sacrifice, yet in war that radiance is ethically ambiguous. It invites reflection on the difference between true yajña (offering aligned with dharma) and the imitation of sacred grandeur in the service of violence and pride.
Duryodhana describes a striking battlefield spectacle: a radiant, golden chariot likened to Mount Meru, with standards and weapons gleaming. The sky’s lightning-lit clouds appear like fluttering banners, and the whole scene is compared to sacrificial fires shining among Yajurvedic priests.