Shloka 40
Adhyāya 22: Śālva’s Weapon-Shower, Dāruka’s Wounding, and the Māyā-Report of Vasudeva’s Father
तन्मेरुशिखराकारं विध्वस्ताट्टालगोपुरम् । दह्यूमानमभिप्रेक्ष्य स्त्रियस्ता: सम्प्रदुद्गरुवु:,मेरुपर्वतके शिखरके समान आकृतिवाले सौभ-नगरकी अट्टालिका और गोपुर सभी नष्ट हो गये। उसे जलते देख उसपर रहनेवाली स्त्रियाँ इधर-उधर भाग गयीं
tanmeruśikharākāraṃ vidhvastāṭṭālagopuram | dahyūmānam abhiprekṣya striyās tāḥ sampradudruvuḥ ||
মেৰু-শিখৰৰ দৰে আকৃতিযুক্ত সেই সৌভ-নগৰৰ অট্টালিকা আৰু গোপুৰ সকলো বিধ্বস্ত হৈছিল। ধোঁৱা আৰু অগ্নিত দহি থকা দেখি তাত বাস কৰা স্ত্ৰীসকল ভয়ত ইফাল-সিফাল দৌৰি পলাই গ’ল।
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most magnificent and seemingly unassailable worldly constructions—likened to Mount Meru—can be reduced to ruin; when violence erupts, those with least power (here, the women residents) are forced into fear and displacement, highlighting the ethical cost of destruction.
Vāyudeva describes a city whose ramparts and gateways have been smashed; it is burning and smoking, and upon seeing this, the women living there flee in alarm in all directions.