Shloka 64

Bhīma–Duryodhana Gadāyuddha Saṃkalpa

Resolve for the Mace Duel

Devanagari script

सो<वबद्धशिरस्त्राण: शुभकाञ्चनवर्म भृत्‌ । रराज राजन पुत्रस्ते काउ्चन: शैलराडिव,महाराज! शिरस्त्राण बाँधकर सुन्दर सुवर्णमय कवच धारण करके आपका पुत्र स्वर्णमय गिरिराज मेरुके समान शोभा पाने लगा

Transliteration

so ’vabaddhaśirastrāṇaḥ śubhakāñcanavarmabhṛt | rarāja rājan putras te kāñcanaḥ śailarāḍ iva ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O König, dein Sohn — den Helm fest verschnürt und in einen prächtigen goldenen Harnisch gehüllt — strahlte wie ein goldener Herr der Berge.“

Word by Word

सःhe

अवबद्ध-शिरस्त्राणःwith helmet fastened/bound on

शुभ-काञ्चन-वर्म-भृत्wearing splendid golden armor

रराजshone, was resplendent

राजन्O king

पुत्रःson

तेyour (of you)

काञ्चनःgolden

शैल-राजःking of mountains

इवlike, as

महाराजO great king

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

King Dhṛtarāṣṭra

your son (Duryodhana, in context)

helmet (śirastrāṇa)

golden armor (kāñcana-varman)

lord of mountains (śailarāṭ)

Mount Meru (implied by the simile in the received Hindi gloss)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the contrast between external magnificence (armor, royal radiance) and the deeper ethical reality of war: splendor and preparedness do not guarantee righteousness or victory; they operate within the larger framework of dharma and destiny that the epic continually interrogates.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the king’s son appears on the battlefield with his helmet secured and golden armor donned, shining like a golden mountain-lord—an image meant to convey formidable presence and heightened martial display.