Shloka 5736

Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)

Devanagari script

हियमाणानपश्याम पज्चालानां रथव्रजान्‌ | माननीय नरेश! उस समय हमलोगोंने कितने ही रथियोंको ऐसी अवस्थामें देखा कि उनके रथके पहिये टूट गये हैं

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

hīyamānān apaśyāma pāñcālānāṁ rathavrajān |

Translation

三阇耶说道：“可敬的国王啊，那时我们看见般遮罗的战车队伍崩溃败坏——许多战车武士陷入无助：车轮粉碎，旗帜与旌幡撕裂，战马与御者被杀，连车轴也断裂。在那般境地里，一群又一群般遮罗的大车战士在我们眼前显得正仓皇奔逃。”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'hīyamānān', 'definition': 'being diminished, declining, falling into ruin

• losing strength and order'}, {'term': 'apaśyāma', 'definition': "we saw (1st person plural imperfect of √paś, 'to see')"}, {'term': 'pāñcālānām', 'definition': 'of the Pañcālas (a people/kingdom allied with the Pāṇḍavas)'}, {'term': 'rathavrajān', 'definition': 'troops/companies (vraja) of chariots (ratha)

• chariot formations'}, {'term': 'rathin', 'definition': 'a chariot-warrior

• one who fights from a chariot'}, {'term': 'cakra', 'definition': 'wheel (of a chariot)'}, {'term': 'dhvaja', 'definition': 'banner, standard'}, {'term': 'patākā', 'definition': 'pennon, flag'}, {'term': 'sārathi', 'definition': 'charioteer'}, {'term': 'aśva', 'definition': 'horse'}, {'term': 'dhur', 'definition': 'yoke/axle-beam

• by extension the axle or supporting timber of the chariot'}, {'term': 'mahārathi', 'definition': 'great chariot-warrior

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'O king')
• Pañcālas
• chariots (ratha)
• chariot-warriors (rathin)
• wheels (cakra)
• banners/standards (dhvaja)
• pennons/flags (patākā)
• horses (aśva)
• charioteers (sārathi)
• axles/yokes (dhur)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage underscores the fragility of martial glory: even elite warriors and proud formations collapse when the supports of action—equipment, coordination, and morale—are destroyed. Ethically, it highlights how war reduces status to vulnerability and turns celebrated power into suffering and flight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pañcāla chariot divisions are being broken: wheels and axles are shattered, banners torn, horses and charioteers killed, and many Pañcāla mahārathas are seen fleeing in groups amid the battlefield chaos.