Shloka 65

Duryodhana’s Śaraṇāgati and the Pāṇḍavas’ Resolve

Gandharva Encounter

Devanagari script

निकृत्तयोधनागाश्चं कृत्तायुधमहारथम्‌

Transliteration

nikṛttayodhanāgāś ca kṛttāyudhamahāratham

Translation

摩罗迦ṇḍeya说道：“又有战象，其上的勇士已被斩落；又有一位伟大的车战勇将，兵器尽被砍断。”此句唤起战场阴沉的道德气息——权势与武勇沦为无助——凸显《摩诃婆罗多》反复的警示：暴力的代价足以毁灭一切，而武人的骄矜何其脆弱。

Word by Word

• निकृत्त: cut down, slain
• निकृत्त: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि√कृत् (कृत्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• योधनागाः: war-elephants (battle-elephants)
• योधनागाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: योधनाग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• कृत्त: cut off, severed
• कृत्त: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √कृत् (कृत्त)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आयुध: weapon
• आयुध: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयुध
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• महारथम्: great chariot-warrior
• महारथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• war-elephants (nāgāḥ)
• great chariot-warrior (mahārathaḥ)
• weapons (āyudhāni)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the devastating reversals of war: even mighty forces—war-elephants and elite chariot-warriors—can be rendered powerless. It supports the epic’s ethical reflection that violence brings ruin and that martial glory is unstable and costly.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is describing a battlefield scene: elephants stand with their fighters slain, and a foremost chariot-warrior is left with weapons cut away—an image of defeat and the brutal aftermath of combat.