Shloka 40
Adhyāya 22: Śālva’s Weapon-Shower, Dāruka’s Wounding, and the Māyā-Report of Vasudeva’s Father
तन्मेरुशिखराकारं विध्वस्ताट्टालगोपुरम् । दह्यूमानमभिप्रेक्ष्य स्त्रियस्ता: सम्प्रदुद्गरुवु:,मेरुपर्वतके शिखरके समान आकृतिवाले सौभ-नगरकी अट्टालिका और गोपुर सभी नष्ट हो गये। उसे जलते देख उसपर रहनेवाली स्त्रियाँ इधर-उधर भाग गयीं
tanmeruśikharākāraṃ vidhvastāṭṭālagopuram | dahyūmānam abhiprekṣya striyās tāḥ sampradudruvuḥ ||
Seeing that city—shaped like the peak of Mount Meru—its lofty ramparts and gateways shattered, and now blazing with smoke and flame, the women who dwelt there fled in panic in all directions.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most magnificent and seemingly unassailable worldly constructions—likened to Mount Meru—can be reduced to ruin; when violence erupts, those with least power (here, the women residents) are forced into fear and displacement, highlighting the ethical cost of destruction.
Vāyudeva describes a city whose ramparts and gateways have been smashed; it is burning and smoking, and upon seeing this, the women living there flee in alarm in all directions.