Shloka 33

Devanagari script

अश्वनागरथैश्वैव संच्छिन्नै: कृतसंक्रमा । पताकाध्वजवानीरा हतवारणवाहिनी

Transliteration

aśvanāgarathaiś caiva saṃchinnaiḥ kṛtasaṅkramā | patākādhvajavānīrā hatavāraṇavāhinī ||

Translation

Ambarīṣa nói: “Ngựa, voi và chiến xa đều bị chém nát, nghiền tan; những cuộc vượt qua và bước tiến có trật tự của quân đội cũng bị phá vỡ. Cờ xí, tiêu kỳ ngổn ngang, và đạo tượng binh đã bị tiêu diệt.”

Word by Word

अश्वby/with horses

नागby/with elephants

रथैःby/with chariots

एवindeed/just

संच्छिन्नैःcut down, severed

कृतसंक्रमाwhose passages/approaches are made (i.e., having made a way/ford)

पताकाbanners

ध्वजstandards

वानीराspears/javelins (lit. reed-spears)

हतslain, destroyed

वारणवाहिनीthe elephant-corps/elephant-army

Speaker

अम्बरीष उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ambarīṣa

horses (aśva)

elephants (nāga/vāraṇa)

chariots (ratha)

banners (patākā)

standards (dhvaja)

army/host (vāhinī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of worldly power: even vast forces marked by banners, elephants, horses, and chariots can be swiftly reduced to ruin, prompting reflection on restraint, responsibility, and dharma amid conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Ambarīṣa describes a battlefield scene where the opposing host has been broken—its tactical movements disrupted, its standards scattered, and its elephant divisions destroyed—conveying the scale of defeat and disorder.