Shloka 28

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 114 — Karṇa–Bhīmasena Missile Exchange, Disarmament, and Arjuna’s Intervention

Devanagari script

प्रेक्षसे वर्मसंछन्नानू किरातैः समधिष्ठितान्‌ । किरातराजो यानू्‌ प्रादाद्‌ द्विरदान्‌ सव्यसाचिन:

Transliteration

prekṣase varmasaṁchannān kirātaiḥ samadhiṣṭhitān | kirātarājo yān prādād dviradān savyasācinaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Du kannst jene Elefanten sehen, von Panzerung bedeckt und vollständig von Kirāta-Kriegern besetzt—Elefanten, die der Kirāta-König Savyasācin (Arjuna) geschenkt hatte.“

Word by Word

प्रेक्षसेyou see/you behold

वर्म-संछन्नान्covered with armor

किरातैःby the Kirātas (mountain-tribesmen)

समधिष्ठितान्well-mounted/occupied (ridden)

किरात-राजःthe Kirāta-king

यान्which/whom

प्रादात्gave

द्विरदान्elephants

सव्यसाचिनःto Savyasācin (Arjuna)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kirātas

Kirāta king

Savyasācin (Arjuna)

armored elephants (dviradas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how alliances and acts of patronage (such as gifting war-elephants) materially shape the battlefield. Ethically, it reflects the epic’s realism: dharma in war is not only personal valor but also preparedness, support, and the responsibilities created by receiving aid.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya points out to the listener that certain elephants on the field are armored and crewed by Kirāta warriors, and identifies them as the very elephants earlier granted by the Kirāta king to Arjuna (Savyasācin).