Shloka 20
इस प्रकार अच्छे घोड़ोंसे जुते हुए सुवर्णमालामण्डित तीस हजार रथ भी उस समय इनका अनुसरण करते थे ।। एनमष्टशता: सूता: सुमृष्टमणिकुण्डला: । अब्र॒ुवन् मागधीै: सार्ध पुरा शक्रमिवर्षय:,जैसे महर्षिगण इन्द्रकी स्तुति करते हैं, उसी प्रकार पहले विशुद्ध मणिमय कुण्डल धारण किये आठ सौ सूत और मागध इनके गुण गाते थे
enaṃ aṣṭaśatāḥ sūtāḥ sumṛṣṭa-maṇi-kuṇḍalāḥ | abruvan māgadhaiḥ sārdhaṃ purā śakram ivarṣayaḥ ||
Arjuna said: “Just as the ancient seers once praised Indra, so too did eight hundred bards—Sūtas together with Māgadhas—adorned with finely polished, jewel-like earrings, sing aloud the virtues of this hero as he advanced, surrounded by the splendor and retinue of royal power.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how public acclaim and royal pageantry are constructed through skilled praise-singers (Sūtas and Māgadhas). Ethically, it suggests that fame and authority are reinforced by social recognition, and it invites discernment between genuine virtue and the outward machinery of glorification.
Arjuna describes a grand royal procession: eight hundred professional bards, adorned with polished jewel-like earrings, accompany and loudly proclaim the hero’s qualities—likened to the way ancient sages praised Indra (Śakra).