Shloka 31

Sātyaki-praveśaḥ and Duryodhana-saṃnipātaḥ

Sātyaki’s passage and Duryodhana’s mass engagement

Devanagari script

गजानां कुम्भमालाभिरर्दन्तवेष्टैक्ष भारत । सबलाका: सखट्योता: सैरावतशतह्दा:

Transliteration

gajānāṁ kumbhamālābhir ardantaveṣṭaikṣa bhārata | sabalākāḥ sakhaṭyotāḥ sairāvataśatahādāḥ ||

Translation

قال سنجيا: يا بهاراتا، كانت الفيلة مزدانة بأكاليل تتدلّى على صدغيها، وأنيابها مربوطةً ومحميّة؛ وكانت تسير في صفوفٍ منتظمة مع العربات والأتباع، كأنها مئاتٌ من إيرافاتا—مشهدٌ مهيب يبعث الرهبة، يُظهر سطوة الحرب وزينة المُلك.

Word by Word

• गजानाम्: of the elephants
• गजानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कुम्भ-मालाभिः: with garlands/rows of frontal globes (temples)
• कुम्भ-मालाभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुम्भमाला
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• अर्दन्त-वेष्टैः: with (things) wrapped/encircled by tusks
• अर्दन्त-वेष्टैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अर्दन्तवेष्ट
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• इक्ष: O seer (Ikṣa?)
• इक्ष: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: इक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• स-बलाकाः: together with cranes/herons (balākā)
• स-बलाकाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सबलाक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• स-खट्योताः: together with khatyōtas (unclear term)
• स-खट्योताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सखट्योत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• स-ऐरावत-शत-ह्रदाः: together with (those like) Airāvata, (having) a hundred lakes/pools (unclear epithet)
• स-ऐरावत-शत-ह्रदाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सैरावतशतह्रद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• elephants (gaja)
• Airāvata

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how war mobilizes immense resources and pageantry—elephants adorned and prepared for battle—inviting reflection on the ethical weight of such displays of power and the human cost behind martial grandeur.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield array: war-elephants are decorated and equipped, moving in formation with supporting vehicles and attendants, compared in majesty to many Airāvatas.