Shloka 25

Devanagari script

“मेरे नगरकी सड़कोंको पताकाओंसे अलंकृत किया जाय। फूलों तथा नाना प्रकारके उपहारोंसे सब देवताओंकी पूजा होनी चाहिये। कुमार, मुख्य-मुख्य योद्धा, शृंगारसे सुशोभित वारांगनाएँ और सब प्रकारके बाजे-गाजे मेरे पुत्रकी अगवानीमें भेजे जाय ।। घण्टावान्‌ मानव: शीघ्र मत्तमारुह्य वारणम्‌ । शृज्भाटकेषु सर्वेषु आख्यातु विजयं मम

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

me nagarasya rathyāḥ patākābhiḥ alaṅkriyantām | puṣpaiś ca nānāvidhaiś ca upahāraiḥ sarvadevatānāṃ pūjā kriyatām | kumārāḥ pradhānā yoddhāḥ śṛṅgāraśobhitāś ca vāraṅganāḥ sarvavidhāni ca vādyāni mama putrasya pratīcchārthaṃ preṣyantām ||

ghaṇṭāvān mānavaḥ śīghraṃ mattam āruhya vāraṇam | śṛṅgāṭakeṣu sarveṣu ākhyātu vijayaṃ mama ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Let the streets of my city be adorned with banners. Let all the gods be worshipped with flowers and with many kinds of offerings. Let princes, foremost warriors, courtesans beautified with ornaments, and every kind of music and drum be sent out to welcome my son. Let a bell-bearing herald quickly mount a rutting elephant and proclaim my victory at every crossroads.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vaiśampāyana uvāca', 'definition': 'Vaiśampāyana said (narrator’s speech marker)'}, {'term': 'nagara', 'definition': 'city'}, {'term': 'rathyāḥ', 'definition': 'streets/roads'}, {'term': 'patākā', 'definition': 'banner, flag'}, {'term': 'alaṅkriyantām', 'definition': 'let them be adorned/decorated (passive imperative)'}, {'term': 'puṣpa', 'definition': 'flower'}, {'term': 'upahāra', 'definition': 'offering, gift'}, {'term': 'sarvadevatā', 'definition': 'all deities'}, {'term': 'pūjā', 'definition': 'worship, ritual honor'}, {'term': 'kumāra', 'definition': 'prince, young noble'}, {'term': 'yoddhā', 'definition': 'warrior'}, {'term': 'śṛṅgāra', 'definition': 'adornment, erotic/ornamental elegance'}, {'term': 'vāraṅganā', 'definition': 'courtesan, public woman skilled in arts'}, {'term': 'vādya', 'definition': 'musical instrument

• music'}, {'term': 'agavānī / pratīcchā', 'definition': 'reception, welcoming'}, {'term': 'ghaṇṭāvān', 'definition': 'bearing a bell (as a heraldic sign)'}, {'term': 'mānava', 'definition': 'man, person (here: herald/announcer)'}, {'term': 'mattavāraṇa', 'definition': 'rutting elephant'}, {'term': 'śṛṅgāṭaka', 'definition': 'crossroads, public junction'}, {'term': 'ākhyātu', 'definition': 'to announce, proclaim'}, {'term': 'vijaya', 'definition': 'victory'}]

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• city (nagara)
• streets/roads (rathyāḥ)
• banners/flags (patākāḥ)
• all deities (sarvadevatāḥ)
• princes (kumārāḥ)
• warriors (yoddhāḥ)
• courtesans (vāraṅganāḥ)
• musical instruments (vādyāni)
• herald (ghaṇṭāvān mānavaḥ)
• elephant (vāraṇa)
• crossroads (śṛṅgāṭakāni)
• victory (vijaya)
• my son (mama putraḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds how rulers convert military success into civic order and legitimacy: gratitude to the gods through worship, and consolidation of authority through public celebration and proclamation. Ethically, it also invites reflection on the allure of fame and spectacle versus inner restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

A royal figure issues instructions for a victory celebration: decorate the city, perform worship with offerings, send out princes, warriors, courtesans, and musicians to receive his son, and have a herald ride an elephant to announce victory at every crossroads.