Mahabharata — Karna Parva, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

उह्यमानमिवाकाशे विमान पाण्ड्रैर्हयै: । ध्वजं च पश्य कर्णस्य नागकक्षं महात्मन:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | uhyamānam ivākāśe vimānaṃ pāṇḍrair hayaiḥ | dhvajaṃ ca paśya karṇasya nāgakakṣaṃ mahātmanaḥ ||

Translation

เมื่อม้าขาวผ่องลากไป ราชรถนั้นดูประหนึ่งถูกอุ้มพาในเวหา ดุจวิมาน และจงดูธงชัยของมหาตมะกรรณะ—มีเครื่องหมายเชือกผูกช้าง (นาคกักษะ) อยู่

Word by Word

• उह्यमानम्: being carried/borne
• उह्यमानम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वह् (धातु) → उह्यमान (कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इव: as if/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• आकाशे: in the sky
• आकाशे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• विमानम्: aerial car; chariot like a flying vehicle
• विमानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: विमान
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पाण्ड्रैः: with white/pale
• पाण्ड्रैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाण्ड्र
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• हयैः: horses
• हयैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• ध्वजम्: banner/standard
• ध्वजम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्वज
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पश्य: see! behold!
• Type: Verb
• Root: पश् (धातु)
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

• कर्णस्य: of Karna
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• नागकक्षम्: having the mark/emblem of an elephant-girth/elephant-rope (as its device)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नागकक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Karna
• dhvaja (banner/standard)
• ratha (chariot, implied)
• pāṇḍra-haya (white horses)
• vimāna (celestial craft, as simile)
• nāgakakṣa (elephant-girth-rope emblem)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how external grandeur—swift horses, a sky-like rush, and a striking banner—can magnify a warrior’s presence, yet it also implicitly contrasts spectacle with the grave ethical weight of war: power and pageantry do not lessen the moral consequences of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya, narrating the battlefield to Dhritarashtra, points out Karna’s chariot and especially his banner bearing the elephant-girth-rope emblem. He describes the chariot’s speed and majesty, likening it to a vimana moving through the sky.