Shloka 24

Kubera-prasāda-vihāra and Counsel on Ajñātavāsa (कुबेरप्रसादविहारः तथा अज्ञातवासोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

ताभिराभरणै: शब्दस्त्रासिताभि: समीरित: । शिलानामिव शैलेषु पतन्तीनामभूत्‌ तदा,उन डरी हुई निशाचरियोंके आभूषणोंके द्वारा उत्पन्न हुआ शब्द पर्वतोंपर पड़ती हुई शिलाओंके समान जान पड़ता था

Transliteration

tābhir ābharaṇaiḥ śabdas trāsitābhiḥ samīritaḥ | śilānām iva śaileṣu patantīnām abhūt tadā ||

Translation

Then the clatter raised by their ornaments, set jingling as the frightened night-roaming women fled, sounded like boulders crashing down upon mountain slopes.

Word by Word

ताभिःby those (women)

आभरणैःby ornaments

शब्दःsound, noise

त्रासिताभिःby (those) frightened

समीरितःraised, produced, set in motion

शिलानाम्of rocks, of stones

इवlike, as if

शैलेषुon mountains

पतन्तीनाम्of (those) falling

अभूत्was, became

तदाthen

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ajuna (Arjuna)

niśācarīḥ (night-roaming women/rākṣasī-like beings)

ābharaṇa (ornaments)

śaila (mountains)

śilā (rocks)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a vivid simile to show how fear exposes and disrupts aggressive or unrighteous designs: when hostile forces are shaken, their own movement creates loud disorder, while steadfast courage aligned with dharma prevails.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna describes the moment when frightened night-roaming women flee; their jewelry rattles loudly, and the resulting noise is compared to stones crashing down a mountainside.