Shloka 276

कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७

Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts

Devanagari script

वैजयन्तीर्विचित्राश्ष हतांक्ष गजवाजिन: । “जिनकी जीभें बाहर निकल आयी हैं

Transliteration

vaijayantīr vicitrāś ca hatāṃś ca gajavājinaḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Những lá cờ vaijayantī rực rỡ nằm vỡ nát trên đất, voi và ngựa đã bị giết—dấu hiệu của sự tàn phá nơi chiến địa, nơi niềm kiêu hãnh của đạo quân sụp đổ và cái giá của bạo lực hiện ra không thể chối cãi.

Word by Word

• vaijayantīḥ: vaijayantī-banners/flags
• vaijayantīḥ: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaijayantī
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• vicitrāḥ: variegated, many-colored
• vicitrāḥ: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vicitra
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca

• hatān: slain
• hatān: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: han
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural, kta (past passive participle)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca

• gaja-vājinaḥ: elephants and horses
• gaja-vājinaḥ: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaja + vājin
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• vaijayantī banners
• elephants
• horses

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: even ‘victory’ symbols like banners end up broken, and the might of armies (elephants and horses) lies destroyed—highlighting impermanence and the human responsibility to weigh violence against dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield scene: ornate victory-standards are scattered and shattered, and the war-mounts—elephants and horses—have been killed, conveying the scale of carnage in the Karṇa Parva fighting.