Mahabharata 1.196.39 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 196, Shloka 39
Adhyāya 196: Droṇa’s Conciliatory Counsel and Karṇa’s Suspicion of Counsel (मन्त्र-नय-विवादः)
ततो दिव्यान् हेमकिरीटमालिन: शक्रप्रख्यान् पावकादित्यवर्णान् । बद्धापीडांश्वारुरूपां श्व॒ यूनो व्यूढोरस्कांस्तालमात्रान् ददर्श
tato divyān hemakirīṭamālinaḥ śakraprakhyān pāvakādityavarṇān | baddhāpīḍāñ śvārurūpān yūno vyūḍhoraskāṃs tālamātrān dadarśa ||
Da erblickte er himmlische Jünglinge, geschmückt mit goldenen Kronen und Girlanden, berühmt wie Indra, strahlend wie Feuer und Sonne. Mit fest gebundenen Diademen und göttlichem Schmuck an allen Gliedern standen sie in der Blüte der Jugend, von überragender Schönheit, breitbrüstig und hoch wie Palmyrapalmen. In dieser herrlichen Gestalt sah König Drupada sie.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how extraordinary power and beauty are portrayed as signs of divine sanction in epic literature, reminding readers that political events in the Mahābhārata often unfold under a larger moral-cosmic order rather than mere human ambition.
Vaiśampāyana narrates a striking vision: King Drupada beholds exceptionally radiant, ornamented youths—Indra-like and sun-and-fire-bright—whose appearance signals the presence of remarkable, possibly divinely connected figures entering the story.
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