Shloka 5
सभा-पर्व, अध्याय ६१ — द्रौपदी-प्रश्नः, सभाधर्मः, सत्यवचन-नियमः
संह्ादनो राजरथो य इहास्मानुपावहत् । जैत्रो रथवर: पुण्यो मेघसागरनि:स्वन: ।। अष्टौ यं कुररच्छाया: सदश्वा राष्ट्रसम्मता:
Saṁhādano rājaratho ya ihāsmān upāvahat | Jaitro rathavaraḥ puṇyo meghasāgara-niḥsvanaḥ || Aṣṭau yaṁ kuraracchāyāḥ sadaśvā rāṣṭra-sammatāḥ |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “This royal chariot named Saṁhādana, which has brought us here, is the victorious, foremost of chariots—auspicious and sacred—its rumble like the roar of clouds and the sea. It is drawn by eight excellent horses, dark as the shadow of a kurara-bird, renowned and approved throughout the realm.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how royal power is ideally framed by auspiciousness and public legitimacy: the chariot is praised not merely for strength and sound, but as ‘puṇya’ and ‘rāṣṭra-sammata’—suggesting that true prestige is tied to recognized, ethically sanctioned order rather than brute force alone.
Yudhiṣṭhira describes and praises the royal chariot that has carried them, emphasizing its victorious character, its awe-inspiring roar, and the eight renowned horses that draw it—setting a tone of grandeur and public recognition within the Sabha Parva context.