Shloka 60

Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)

Devanagari script

परिस्तोमाशक्ष प्रासाक्ष ऋष्टयश्षु महाधना: । कवचान्यथ चर्माणि चित्राण्यास्तरणानि च

Transliteration

paristomāś ca prāsāś ca ṛṣṭayaś ca mahādhanāḥ | kavacāni atha carmāṇi citrāṇy āstaraṇāni ca ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : « On y voyait encore maintes armes et riches équipements de guerre : masses et lances, et des piques de grand prix ; des cuirasses aussi, des boucliers, et diverses housses et parures éclatantes. »

Word by Word

• परिस्तोमाः: coverings/cloths (spreads)
• परिस्तोमाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिस्तोम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अश्वाः: horses
• अश्वाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रासाः: spears
• प्रासाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रास
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ऋष्टयः: lances/pikes
• ऋष्टयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• महाधनाः: very wealthy (men)
• महाधनाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाधन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• कवचानि: armours
• कवचानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवच
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• अथ: then/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• चर्माणि: leathers/hides (shields)
• चर्माणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• चित्राणि: variegated/ornate
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चित्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• आस्तरणानि: coverlets/spreads
• आस्तरणानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आस्तरण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• paristoma (mace/club)
• prāsa (spear)
• ṛṣṭi (lance/pike)
• kavaca (armour)
• carma (shield)
• āstaraṇa (coverings/trappings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the immense material preparation and wealth invested in war—an implicit reminder that armed conflict mobilizes vast resources and intensifies the gravity of kṣatriya responsibility and ethical restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues his battlefield report by listing the kinds of weapons and protective gear present—spears, lances, maces, armour, shields, and decorated coverings—conveying the scale and splendour of the martial array.