Shloka 153

Devanagari script

विनिर्भिन्ना: शरैस्ती4णैनिपितुर्वसुधातले । दुःशासनने वहाँ युद्धके मैदानमें कितने ही रथियोंको रथहीन कर दिया। उसके तीखे बाणोंसे विदीर्ण होकर बहुत-से महाधनुर्धर घुड़सवार और महाबली गजारोही पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े

Transliteration

vinirbhinnāḥ śarais tīkṣṇair nipetur vasudhātale | duḥśāsanena vai yuddhakṣetre bahavo rathino rathahīnāḥ kṛtāḥ | tasya tīkṣṇaśarair vidīrṇā bahavo mahādhanurdharā aśvārohā mahābalino gajārohāś ca pṛthivyāṃ nipetuḥ ||

Translation

దుఃశాసనుని పదునైన బాణములచే ఛేదింపబడి అనేక యోధులు భూమిపై కూలిపోయిరి. యుద్ధరంగమున అతడు ఎన్నో రథులను రథహీనులుగా చేసెను; అతని తీక్ష్ణ శరములచే విదీర్ణులై అనేక మహాధనుర్ధర అశ్వారోహులు, మహాబల గజారోహులు కూడ నేలపై పడిపోయిరి.

Word by Word

विनिर्भिन्नाःtorn asunder, pierced through

शरैःby arrows

तीक्ष्णैःsharp

निपेतुःfell down

वसुधातलेon the surface of the earth

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Duḥśāsana

battlefield (yuddhakṣetra)

arrows (śara)

chariots (ratha)

chariot-warriors (rathin)

horsemen (aśvāroha)

elephant-riders (gajāroha)

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 destructive momentum of war: prowess can rapidly reduce even elite fighters to helplessness. Ethically, it points to the grim fruits of conflict driven by adharma—where power and rank do not shield one from suffering, and violence multiplies consequences across all sides.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports Duḥśāsana’s effectiveness in combat: with sharp arrows he wounds and fells many fighters, disables chariot-warriors by making them lose their chariots, and brings down horsemen and elephant-riders onto the ground.