Shloka 236

Devanagari script

बहुधातुनिबद्धाड्ञान्‌ हिमवच्छिखरानिव । उनकी दीवारें अनेक प्रकारकी धातुओंसे चित्रित थीं तथा वे हिमालयके शिखरोंकी भाँति सुशोभित हो रहे थे

Transliteration

bahudhātu-nibaddhājñān himavac-chikharān iva |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “They were fashioned and inlaid with many kinds of metals, and they shone forth like the peaks of the Himālaya.” The description underscores the dazzling, almost natural grandeur of royal architecture—splendour that can inspire awe, yet also frames the courtly world where pride, display, and rivalry may quietly gather strength.

Word by Word

• बहुधातु-निबद्धान्: bound/constructed with many metals
• बहुधातु-निबद्धान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहुधातुनिबद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• हिमवत्-शिखरान्: peaks of Himavat (the Himalaya)
• हिमवत्-शिखरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिमवत्शिखर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Himālaya (Himavat)
• peaks/summits (śikharāṇi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how external magnificence can appear as grand and natural as mountains, inviting admiration; ethically, it also serves as a backdrop reminding readers that splendour and display can feed attachment and arrogance, which in the Sabha narrative later contribute to moral collapse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing the extraordinary construction and appearance of a magnificent hall or palace structure, emphasizing its metal inlays and its mountain-like brilliance through a simile comparing it to the snowy peaks of the Himālaya.