Shloka 17
सूर्य–कर्णोपदेशः
Sūrya’s Counsel to Karṇa on Kīrti and the Kuṇḍala
बद्धगोधाडुलित्राणौ राघवौ तत्र जम्मतुः । वृतौ हरिमहामात्रै श्वन्द्रसूर्यों ग्रहैरिव,दोनों रघुवंशी वीर श्रीराम और लक्ष्मण हाथोंमें गोहके चमड़ेके बने हुए दस्ताने पहने हुए थे। वे ग्रहोंसे घिरे हुए चन्द्रमा और सूर्यकी भाँति वानरजातीय मन्त्रियोंके बीचमें होकर चल रहे थे
baddha-godhā-ḍuli-trāṇau rāghavau tatra jagmatuḥ | vṛtau hari-mahā-mātraiḥ śvandra-sūryau grahair iva ||
Dijo Mārkaṇḍeya: Allí avanzaron los dos vástagos de Raghu—Śrī Rāma y Lakṣmaṇa—con las manos protegidas por guantes hechos de piel de iguana. Rodeados por los grandes ministros del ejército vānara, marchaban como la luna y el sol circundados por sus planetas asistentes.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic leadership: worthy leaders advance with preparedness (protective gear) and with the support of competent counsellors. The simile of sun and moon with planets suggests ordered authority—power guided and stabilized by an ethical, well-structured retinue rather than isolated force.
In Mārkaṇḍeya’s narration of the Rāma story within the Vana Parva, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa proceed onward wearing protective hand-guards made of godhā-hide, while the chief Vānara ministers surround them. Their movement is compared to the moon and sun encircled by planets.