Shloka 24
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
गड़ा सरस्वती सिन्धुर्धुमाकाशमेव च । उपस्करो रथस्यासन्नाप: सर्वाश्ष निम्नगा:,गंगा, सरस्वती और सिंधु--इन तीनों नदियोंके साथ आकाश त्रिवेणुकाष्ठयुक्त धुरेका भाग हुआ। उस रथके बन्धन आदिकी सामग्री जल तथा सम्पूर्ण नदियाँ थीं
gaḍā sarasvatī sindhur dhūmākāśam eva ca | upaskaro rathasyāsann āpaḥ sarvāś ca nimnagāḥ ||
Wika ni Duryodhana: “Ang pamalo (mace) ay naging Sarasvatī; naroon din ang Sindhu; at maging ang mausok na langit ay pumuwesto sa bahagi nito. Ang mga kabit at tali ng karwaheng iyon ay ang tubig mismo, at ang lahat ng ilog na umaagos pababa.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses hyperbolic, cosmic imagery to show how war distorts values: even sacred, life-sustaining waters and rivers are imagined as mere chariot-gear. It implicitly warns that adharma-driven conflict can turn the natural and sacred order into instruments of destruction.
Duryodhana describes a terrifying battlefield vision in which elements of nature—rivers, water, and a smoke-darkened sky—are poetically mapped onto parts of a warrior’s equipment and chariot, intensifying the sense of overwhelming, world-consuming warfare.