Shloka 19

Karṇa’s Counsel on Śrī

Fortune) and the Proposed Display before the Exiled Pāṇḍavas (कर्णवचनम् / श्रीप्रदर्शन-प्रस्तावः

Devanagari script

अड्जप्रत्यज्भसम्भूतश्नतुर्थ्यामभवद्‌ गुह: । लोहिताभ्रेण महता संवृत: सह विद्युता

Transliteration

aḍjapratyajbhasambhūtaś caturthyām abhavad guhaḥ | lohitābhreṇa mahatā saṃvṛtaḥ saha vidyutā ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “On the fourth day, a vast cavern came into being, formed from the gathered mass of that (dark) radiance. It was enveloped by a great red cloud, flashing with lightning.”

Word by Word

अण्डजfrom the egg-born (i.e., from the egg)

प्रत्यग्भfrom the inner/returning radiance (glow)

सम्भूतःarisen, produced

चतुर्थ्याम्on the fourth (day/phase)

अभवत्became, came to be

गुहःGuha (a being/person named Guha)

लोहिताभ्रेणby/with a red cloud

महताgreat, huge

संवृतःcovered, enveloped

सहtogether with

विद्युताwith lightning

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

guha (cavern)

lohita-abhra (red cloud)

vidyut (lightning)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

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 underscores how extraordinary natural phenomena—clouds, lightning, sudden formations—are narrated as meaningful portents, reminding listeners that human plans unfold within a larger, awe-inspiring cosmic order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya describes a dramatic scene: by the fourth day a large cavern appears, and it is shrouded in a massive red cloud accompanied by lightning, heightening the sense of an ominous or wondrous event.