Shloka 24

भीष्मसेनासंनिवेशः — Bhīṣma’s Mobilization, Omens, and the Kaurava Array

Devanagari script

जाम्बूनदमयी वेदी कमण्डलुविभूषिता

Transliteration

jāmbūnadamayī vedī kamaṇḍalu-vibhūṣitā

Translation

Sañjaya said: “There was a sacrificial altar fashioned of Jāmbūnada-gold, adorned with a ritual water-pot (kamaṇḍalu).”

Word by Word

• जाम्बूनदमयी: made of Jāmbūnada-gold
• जाम्बूनदमयी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जाम्बूनद + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• वेदी: altar; sacrificial platform
• वेदी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• कमण्डलु-विभूषिता: adorned with a water-pot (kamaṇḍalu)
• कमण्डलु-विभूषिता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विभूषित (कृदन्त; धातु √भूष्)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• vedī (sacrificial altar)
• kamaṇḍalu (ritual water-pot)
• jāmbūnada (gold)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds sacred and ritual imagery—golden altar and kamaṇḍalu—to imply that actions, even in a battlefield setting, should remain oriented toward dharma, purity of intention, and disciplined order rather than mere violence or gain.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing a scene with ritual paraphernalia: a golden altar (vedī) decorated with a kamaṇḍalu. The description functions as a visual marker of sanctity and ceremonial presence within the broader Bhīṣma Parva war narration.