Shloka 2

शल्यवधे कौरवसेनाभङ्गः, भीमस्य गदायुद्धं, दुर्योधनस्य समाह्वानम्

Rout after Śalya’s fall; Bhīma’s mace engagement; Duryodhana’s rally

Devanagari script

दुर्योधनस्तु द्विदमारुह्माचलसंनिभम्‌ । छत्रेण प्रियमाणेन वीज्यमानश्न चामरै:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | duryodhanas tu dvipadam āruhya acalasaṁnibham | chatreṇa priyamāṇena vījyamānaś ca cāmaraiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dijo: Duryodhana, en cambio, montó un enorme elefante semejante a una montaña. Lo honraban con un parasol real sostenido sobre su cabeza y lo abanicaban con chāmaras, los abanicos de cola de yak: imagen de orgullo regio y esplendor exterior, frente al sombrío peso moral de la guerra.

Word by Word

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

तुbut/indeed

द्विपदम्the elephant (lit. two-footed/with two feet in front)

आरुह्यhaving mounted

अचल-संनिभम्resembling a mountain

छत्रेणwith an umbrella/parasol

प्रियमाणेनbeing held/borne (over him)

वीज्यमानःbeing fanned

चand

चामरैःwith yak-tail fans (chowries)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Duryodhana

elephant (dvipada)

royal parasol (chatra)

cāmara whisks (cāmara)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the contrast between external majesty (parasol, fans, elephant like a mountain) and the inner ethical crisis of war: royal display can amplify pride and delusion, reminding readers that power and ceremony do not guarantee righteousness (dharma).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Duryodhana taking position by mounting a huge elephant and being ceremonially attended with a parasol and cāmara fans, emphasizing his kingly posture and the battlefield pageantry surrounding him.