Shloka 18
Kṛtavarmā–Sātyaki Chariot Duel and Kaurava Morale Shock (कृतवर्म-सात्यकि-द्वैरथम्)
सतं रथं हेमविभूषिताडूं साश्वं ससूतं सहसा विमृद्य । उत्क्षिप्प हस्तेन नदन् महाद्विपो विपोथयामास वसुन्धरातले
sa taṁ rathaṁ hemavibhūṣitāṅgaṁ sāśvaṁ sasūtaṁ sahasā vimṛdya | utkṣipya hastena nadan mahādvipo vipothayāmāsa vasundharātale ||
三阇耶说道：那巨象长鸣震天，骤然将德利什塔丢摩那那饰以黄金的战车连同战马与御者一并碾碎；继而以鼻卷起，又猛然摔掷在大地之上。此景显出战争的残酷冲势：力量与狂怒能在顷刻间毁灭最华美的武备与荣光。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impermanence of worldly power and splendor in the chaos of battle: even a gold-adorned chariot and its crew can be destroyed in a moment by overwhelming force. Ethically, it reflects the harsh reality of kṣatriya warfare, where courage and might operate within a tragic field of destruction.
Sañjaya describes a great elephant that, while trumpeting, suddenly tramples Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s gold-decorated chariot along with the horses and charioteer, then lifts it with its trunk and smashes it onto the ground.