Shloka 15

उलूकदूतवाक्यम् / Ulūka’s Message to the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

सैन्येन महा तेन प्रभूतगजवाजिना

Transliteration

sainyena mahā tena prabhūtagajavājinā

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Avec cette immense armée—foisonnante d’éléphants et de chevaux—la marche et les apprêts du combat sont dépeints comme une démonstration de puissance écrasante, annonçant la tension morale entre le devoir légitime et l’élan destructeur de la guerre.

Word by Word

• सैन्येन: by/with the army
• सैन्येन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• महा: great
• महा: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• तेन: by/with that
• तेन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रभूतगजवाजिना: with abundant elephants and horses
• प्रभूतगजवाजिना: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रभूतगजवाजिन्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Army (sainya)
• Elephants (gaja)
• Horses (vājin)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights how sheer military abundance—elephants and cavalry—can drive events toward war, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical concern: power and preparedness must be governed by dharma, or they become instruments of ruin.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the presence or movement of a massive, well-equipped force, emphasizing its scale and resources (especially elephants and horses), as the story advances toward open conflict.