Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 50
Balarāma Humbles the Kurus and Rescues Sāmba
दुर्योधन: पारिबर्हं कुञ्जरान् षष्टिहायनान् । ददौ च द्वादशशतान्ययुतानि तुरङ्गमान् ॥ ५० ॥ रथानां षट्सहस्राणि रौक्माणां सूर्यवर्चसाम् । दासीनां निष्ककण्ठीनां सहस्रं दुहितृवत्सल: ॥ ५१ ॥
duryodhanaḥ pāribarhaṁ kuñjarān ṣaṣṭi-hāyanān dadau ca dvādaśa-śatāny ayutāni turaṅgamān
Duryodhana, dearly affectionate to his daughter, gave as dowry 1,200 sixty-year-old elephants, 120,000 horses, 6,000 golden chariots radiant like the sun, and 1,000 maidservants wearing jeweled lockets upon their necks.
FAQs
In this verse, Śukadeva describes the extraordinary scale of royal marriage gifts—mature elephants and vast numbers of horses—showing the opulence surrounding the events of Kṛṣṇa’s time.
The verse presents Duryodhana as offering an immense dowry-like gift as part of the marriage proceedings, reflecting royal prestige and political display within the broader narrative.
Material wealth and grandeur are portrayed as impressive yet external; a devotee can learn to value inner dharma and devotion above displays of power or opulence.