Shloka 70

Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)

Devanagari script

अथाशोक: समादाय रथं हेमपरिष्कृतम्‌

Transliteration

athāśokaḥ samādāya rathaṃ hemapariṣkṛtam

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Da nahm Aśoka den mit Gold geschmückten Wagen.

Word by Word

• अथ: then/thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• अशोकः: Ashoka (proper name)
• अशोकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशोक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• समादाय: having taken/after taking
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-दा
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• रथम्: chariot
• रथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• हेमपरिष्कृतम्: adorned/ornamented with gold
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हेमपरिष्कृत
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Aśoka
• ratha (chariot)
• hema (gold)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in the Mahābhārata’s war setting, action is preceded by deliberate preparation and assumption of duty; even symbols of power (a gold-adorned chariot) are ultimately instruments serving responsibility in a morally weighty conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that a person named Aśoka takes up or readies a chariot that is richly decorated with gold, indicating imminent movement or deployment within the unfolding events of the battlefield.