Shloka 26

Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

इडोपहूता: क्रोशन्ति कुञ्जरास्त्वंकुशेरिता: । व्याघुष्टतलनादेन वषट्कारेण पार्थिव

Transliteration

iḍopahūtāḥ krośanti kuñjarās tvaṅkuśeritāḥ | vyāghuṣṭa-tala-nādena vaṣaṭkāreṇa pārthiva

Translation

Ambarīṣa berkata: “Wahai raja, gajah-gajah yang dipanggil oleh seruan dan digiring dengan pengait (aṅkuśa) meraung keras; di tengah gemuruh tepukan tangan dan seruan ritual ‘vaṣaṭ’, suasana pun memuncak menjadi hiruk-pikuk.”

Word by Word

• इडोपहूताः: invoked by the iḍā (sacrificial call/rite)
• इडोपहूताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इडोपहूत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• क्रोशन्ति: cry out, roar
• क्रोशन्ति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्रुश्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• कुञ्जराः: elephants
• कुञ्जराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुञ्जर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Nominative, Singular

• अङ्कुशेरिताः: driven/urged by the goad
• अङ्कुशेरिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अङ्कुशेरित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• व्याघुष्टतलनादेन: with the resounding noise of the palms (clapping)
• व्याघुष्टतलनादेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याघुष्ट-तल-नाद
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• वषट्कारेण: with the vaṣaṭ-cry (ritual exclamation)
• वषट्कारेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वषट्कार
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• पार्थिव: O king
• पार्थिव: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

अम्बरीष उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ambarīṣa
• pārthiva (king)
• kuñjara (elephants)
• aṅkuśa (elephant-goad)
• vaṣaṭkāra (ritual exclamation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how royal and ritual settings can become charged with noise and display—elephants driven by control (aṅkuśa) and crowds invoking ritual cries—suggesting the power and danger of spectacle, and implicitly the need for disciplined governance and restraint amid commotion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Ambarīṣa addresses a king and describes a vivid scene: elephants, called forth and prodded by goads, are trumpeting, while loud clapping/striking sounds and the ritual shout ‘vaṣaṭ’ add to the din, portraying a bustling ceremonial or courtly environment.