Shloka 17
Jarāsandha–Bhīma Niyuddha-prastāvaḥ
Commencement of the Regulated Duel
स्वपुरे स्थापयामास तेन चानहा चर्मणा । यत्र ता: प्राणदन् भेयों दिव्यपुष्पावचूर्णिता:,राजाने उन नगाड़ोंको उस राक्षसके चमड़ेसे मढ़ाकर अपने नगरमें रखवा दिया। जहाँ वे नगाड़े बजते थे, वहाँ दिव्य फूलोंकी वर्षा होने लगती थी
svapure sthāpayāmāsa tena cānahā carmaṇā | yatra tāḥ prāṇadan bheyo divyapuṣpāvacūrṇitāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The king had those kettledrums installed in his own city, their frames covered with the hide of that rākṣasa. Wherever those drums resounded, a shower of divine flowers would fall.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how royal power is publicly signaled through symbols and wonders: the king’s installation of drums covered with a rākṣasa’s hide becomes a spectacle, and the miraculous shower of flowers functions as an omen-like validation of extraordinary might—while also inviting ethical reflection on how violence is transformed into prestige.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the king brought certain kettledrums to his own city and had them covered with the hide of a rākṣasa. When these drums were beaten, divine flowers rained down wherever the sound carried, marking the event as wondrous and celebratory.