Śoka-śamana: Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation and Nārada’s Exempla to Sṛñjaya
Chapter 29
सर्वा रथगता: कन्या रथा: सर्वे चतुर्युजः । शतं शतं रथे नागा: पद्मिनो हेममालिन:
sarvā rathagatāḥ kanyā rathāḥ sarve caturyujaḥ | śataṃ śataṃ rathe nāgāḥ padmino hemamālinaḥ ||
वायु बोले— “वे सब कन्याएँ रथों पर आरूढ़ थीं। प्रत्येक रथ में चार-चार घोड़े जुते थे। और हर रथ के पीछे ‘पद्मिन’ जाति के सौ-सौ हाथी चलते थे—जो स्वर्णमालाओं से विभूषित थे और जिनके मस्तकों पर कमल-चिह्न अंकित थे।”
वायुदेव उवाच
The verse primarily offers descriptive narration rather than direct moral instruction; implicitly, it highlights the cultural ideal of auspicious order and royal magnificence—where prosperity and careful arrangement (well-yoked chariots, auspiciously marked elephants) signify legitimacy, status, and the outward signs of a well-governed realm.
Vāyudeva describes a grand procession: maidens seated in separate chariots, each chariot drawn by four horses, and each accompanied by a large retinue of auspicious ‘Padmin’ elephants adorned with golden garlands and lotus emblems.