Shloka 15
सभा-पर्व, अध्याय ६१ — द्रौपदी-प्रश्नः, सभाधर्मः, सत्यवचन-नियमः
युधिछिर उवाच सहस्रसंख्या नागा मे मत्तास्तिष्ठन्ति सौबल । हेमकक्षा: कृतापीडा: पद्मिनो हेममालिन:,युधिष्ठिरने कहा--सुबलकुमार! मेरे यहाँ एक हजार मतवाले हाथी हैं, जिनके बाँधनेके रस्से सुवर्णमय हैं। वे सदा आभूषणोंसे विभूषित रहते हैं। उनके कपोल और मस्तक आदि अंगोंपर कमलके चिह्न बने हुए हैं। उनके गलेमें सोनेके हार सुशोभित होते हैं
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | sahasrasaṅkhyā nāgā me mattās tiṣṭhanti saubala | hemakakṣāḥ kṛtāpīḍāḥ padmino hemamālinaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O Saubala (son of Subala), I have a thousand elephants, all in musth and standing ready. Their tethering-ropes are of gold; they are adorned with crafted head-ornaments; they bear lotus-like marks upon their temples and foreheads; and golden garlands shine upon their necks.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the allure of royal wealth and display; in the broader dice-hall narrative it foreshadows how attachment to status and prosperity can become ethically perilous when challenged by deceit and gambling.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Śakuni (Saubala) and lists his magnificent assets—especially a thousand musth elephants richly ornamented—within the Sabha Parva setting that leads into the fateful contest of dice.