Shloka 38
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
ध्वजयष्टिरभून्मेरु: श्रीमान् कनकपर्वत: । पताकाश्चाभवन् मेघास्तडिद्धि:ः समलड्कृता:
dhvajayaṣṭir abhūn meruḥ śrīmān kanakaparvataḥ | patākāś cābhavan meghās taḍiddhiḥ samalaṅkṛtāḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “The standard-staff seemed like Mount Meru itself—a splendid mountain of gold; and the banners became like clouds, beautifully adorned with lightning.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Splendor in weapons and pageantry can intoxicate the mind and be misread as a sign of moral rightness; the epic repeatedly contrasts external brilliance with the deeper measure of dharma and the consequences of adharma.
In the Karṇa Parva battle setting, Duryodhana describes the army’s standards and banners in grand, cosmic imagery—likening the banner-pole to Meru and the flags to thunderclouds—expressing confidence and awe at the martial spectacle.