Mahabharata 9.14.28 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 14, Shloka 28

Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)

Devanagari script

व्यश्वसूतरथं चक्रे सव्यसाची परंतप:

Transliteration

vyaśvasūtarathaṃ cakre savyasācī parantapaḥ

Translation

Wika ni Sañjaya: Si Arjuna, ang mamamanang kayang gumamit ng dalawang kamay at tagasunog ng mga kaaway, ay winasak ang kabayo, ang kutsero, at ang karwahe ng kalaban—larawan ng mapagpasiyang husay sa pakikidigma na ginamit sa madilim, tungkuling-karahasang dala ng digmaan.

Word by Word

• व्यश्वसूतरथम्: the chariot with horses and charioteer (i.e., fully equipped chariot)
• व्यश्वसूतरथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व + सूत + रथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• चक्रे: made / rendered
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular

• सव्यसाची: Arjuna (the ambidextrous archer)
• सव्यसाची: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सव्यसाचिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• परंतपः: the scorcher of foes (epithet)
• परंतपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: परंतप
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna (Savyasācī)
• enemy chariot (ratha)
• charioteer (sūta)
• horses (aśva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined martial excellence within the harsh framework of kṣatriya-duty: in war, decisive action and skill are exercised not as personal cruelty but as the grim execution of one’s role in a righteous conflict as presented by the epic’s narrative voice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Arjuna, famed as Savyasācī, strikes so effectively that the opponent’s chariot-unit—its horses, charioteer, and chariot—is rendered ruined or disabled, signaling a turning point in that immediate combat exchange.