Shloka 8

अग्निभय-प्रसङ्गे मन्दपालस्य शोकः

Mandapāla’s Lament amid the Threat of Fire

Devanagari script

एकं शतसहस्रेण सम्मितं राष्ट्रवर्धनम्‌ । चित्रमुच्चावचैर्वर्णै: शोभितं श्लक्ष्णममवत्रणम्‌

Transliteration

ekaṃ śatasahasreṇa sammitaṃ rāṣṭravardhanam | citram uccāvacair varṇaiḥ śobhitaṃ ślakṣṇam amavatraṇam ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana dijo: «Había un solo objeto, tasado en cien mil, que acrecentaba la prosperidad del reino. Era maravilloso: adornado con colores de muchas clases, resplandeciente de hermosura, suave al tacto y provisto de una cubierta».

Word by Word

एकम्one

शतसहस्रेणby/with a hundred-thousand (i.e., 100,000)

सम्मितम्measured, amounting to

राष्ट्रवर्धनम्that which increases the kingdom/prosperity

चित्रम्variegated, wonderful

उच्चावचैःwith high and low (i.e., various)

वर्णैःwith colors

शोभितम्adorned, beautified

श्लक्ष्णम्smooth, fine

अमवत्रणम्a covering/garment (reading uncertain)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how royal prosperity is often displayed and reinforced through valuable, well-crafted objects; it implicitly points to the ethical responsibility of rulers to use wealth in ways that strengthen the realm rather than merely indulge vanity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a single highly valuable, beautifully adorned item—variegated in color, smooth, and covered—emphasizing its worth and its role as an enhancer of the kingdom’s splendor and prosperity.