Shloka 11

Sagara’s Aśvamedha Horse Lost; The Sixty-Thousand Sons Begin the Subterranean Search

Kapila Introduced

Devanagari script

ते हेमनिष्काभरणा: कुण्डलाड्भदधारिण: । निहता बह्नशोभन्त पुष्पिता इव किंशुका:,सोनेकी मोहरोंकी मालाओंसे भूषित तथा कुण्डल एवं बाजूबंदधारी दैत्य वहाँ मारे जाकर खिले हुए पलाशके वृक्षोंकी भाँति अधिक शोभा पा रहे थे

Transliteration

te hemaniṣkābharaṇāḥ kuṇḍalāṅgadadhāriṇaḥ | nihatā bahuśo bhānti puṣpitā iva kiṃśukāḥ ||

Translation

Jene Dämonen, geschmückt mit goldenen Halsketten und Zierat, mit Ohrringen und Armspangen, lagen dort erschlagen; und doch erschienen sie selbst im Sturz von auffallender Pracht — wie Kiṃśuka-Bäume in voller Blüte.

Word by Word

तेthey (those)

हेम-निष्क-आभरणाःadorned with golden necklaces/torques (niṣka-ornaments)

कुण्डल-आभद्ध-धारिणःwearing earrings and bound armlets

निहताःslain

बहुशःin many ways / greatly / abundantly

शोभन्तेthey shine / appear splendid

पुष्पिताःin bloom / flowered

इवlike / as if

किंशुकाःkiṃśuka trees (palāśa)

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

daityas (demons)

hemaniṣka (gold neck-ornament)

ābharaṇa (ornaments)

kuṇḍala (earrings)

aṅgada (armlets)

kiṃśuka/palāśa (Butea monosperma) trees

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?

External magnificence—gold ornaments, earrings, armlets—cannot avert death; in war, splendor ends as a mere appearance over lifeless bodies. The verse invites reflection on impermanence and the futility of pride rooted in display.

What is happening in the narrative?

A battlefield scene is described: many demons, richly ornamented, have been killed. Their fallen bodies, still decorated, are compared to kiṃśuka (palāśa) trees in bloom, emphasizing a vivid but unsettling beauty amid destruction.