Shloka 20
Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha
Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site
ख्याता दहदहा चैव तथा धमधमा नृप । खण्डखण्डा च राजेन्द्र पूषणा मणिकुट्टिका
khyātā dahadahā caiva tathā dhamadhamā nṛpa | khaṇḍakhaṇḍā ca rājendra pūṣaṇā maṇikuṭṭikā ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô roi, il y avait aussi (des armes et des traits) célèbres sous les noms de Dahadahā et Dhamadhamā ; et, ô seigneur des rois, (d’autres) appelés Khaṇḍakhaṇḍā, Pūṣaṇā et Maṇikuṭṭikā.» Dans le cadre sinistre de la guerre, la narration recense des engins redoutables dont les noms mêmes évoquent brûlure, martèlement et fracassement, soulignant que, une fois lâchée, la violence se multiplie en formes et accroît la souffrance.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a stark reminder that war is not a single act but an expanding system of harm: even the named instruments of battle embody burning, pounding, and fragmentation, pointing to how violence proliferates and deepens suffering when dharma is eclipsed by hostility.
Vaiśampāyana is enumerating notable weapons or missiles present in the conflict, listing them by their traditional names—Dahadahā, Dhamadhamā, Khaṇḍakhaṇḍā, Pūṣaṇā, and Maṇikuṭṭikā—within the broader war narrative of the Śalya Parva.