Shloka 30

द्रोणेन दुर्योधनस्य कवचबन्धनम् — Drona’s Mantra-Bound Armor for Duryodhana

Devanagari script

+ चर 30“ 6 नी । ६ /३ 8 + की षष्टिनागसहस्राणि षष्टिनागशतानि च । सौवर्णानकरोद्‌ राजा ब्राह्माणेभ्यश्व॒ तान्‌ ददौ,राजाने छाछठ हजार सोनेके हाथी बनवाये और उन्हें ब्राह्मणोंकोी दे दिया

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭināgasahasrāṇi ṣaṣṭināgaśatāni ca | sauvarṇān akarod rājā brāhmaṇebhyaś ca tān dadau ||

Translation

Nārada berkata: Sang raja membuat enam puluh ribu gajah emas, dan enam ratus lagi; lalu ia menganugerahkan semua gajah emas itu kepada para brāhmaṇa sebagai dāna.

Word by Word

षष्टिनागसहस्राणिsixty thousand elephants

षष्टिनागशतानिsixty hundred elephants (i.e., six thousand elephants)

चand

सौवर्णान्golden

अकरोत्made/caused to be made

राजाthe king

ब्राह्मणेभ्यःto the Brahmins

तान्those (elephants)

ददौgave

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

the king (rājā)

Brāhmaṇas

golden elephants (sauvarṇa-nāga)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dāna as a central royal virtue: a king is portrayed as accruing merit and upholding dharma by generous, public gifting—especially to Brāhmaṇas, who represent ritual authority and custodianship of sacred learning in the epic’s social ethic.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada narrates an episode of extraordinary royal generosity: the king commissions golden elephant images/effigies in vast numbers and donates them to Brāhmaṇas, emphasizing the scale and intentionality of the gift.