Shloka 54
Śārṅgakānāṃ Avināśaḥ (Why the Śārṅga Birds Were Spared) | शार्ङ्गकानामविनाशः
क्लृप्तानां पटुघण्टानां चारूणां हेममालिनाम् | हस्त्यारोहैरुपेतानां सहस्नं साहसप्रिय:,जिन्हें साहसका काम प्रिय है और जो हाथमें हल धारण करते हैं, उन बलरामने प्रसन्न होकर इस नूतन सम्बन्धका आदर करते हुए अर्जुनको पाणिग्रहणके दहेजके रूपमें एक हजार मतवाले हाथी भेंट किये, जो तीन अंगोंसे मदकी धारा बहानेवाले थे। वे हाथी युद्धमें कभी पीछे नहीं हटते थे और देखनेमें पर्वतशिखरके समान जान पड़ते थे। उनके मस्तकोंपर सुन्दर वेषरचना की गयी थी। उन सबके पार्श्वभागमें मजबूत घण्टे लटक रहे थे तथा गलेमें सोनेके हार शोभा दे रहे थे। वे सभी हाथी बड़े सुन्दर लगते थे और उन सबके साथ महावत थे
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
klṛptānāṁ paṭu-ghaṇṭānāṁ cārūṇāṁ hema-mālinām |
hasty-ārohair upetānāṁ sahasraṁ sāhasa-priyaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Delighting in bold deeds, he presented a thousand splendid elephants as a bride-gift in honor of this new alliance—elephants outfitted with strong, well-fixed bells, adorned with golden garlands, and attended by skilled riders. The gift publicly affirmed the bond between families and displayed royal generosity, where wealth and power are offered not for mere show but to seal relationship, duty, and mutual respect.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic social ethic: alliances are honored through public, appropriate gifts. Such giving is not mere display; it signals responsibility, respect, and the strengthening of bonds between families within the kṣatriya order.
The narrator describes a grand presentation of a thousand richly adorned elephants, each attended by riders, given as a formal gift connected with a new relationship (a marriage alliance), emphasizing the scale and splendor of the offering.