Shloka 2

Karṇa–Sūrya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dāna, and the Amoghā Śakti (कर्ण–सूर्यसंवादः)

Devanagari script

रावण: संविध॑ चक्रे लड़कायां शास्त्रनिर्मिताम्‌ । प्रकृत्यैव दुराधर्षा दृढप्राकारतोरणा,इधर रावण लंकामें शास्त्रोक्त प्रकारसे बनी हुई युद्ध-सामग्री (मशीनगन आदि)-का संग्रह करने लगा। लंकाकी चहारदीवारी और नगर-द्वार अत्यन्त सुदृढ़ थे; अतः स्वभावसे ही वह दुर्धर्ष थी--किसी भी आक्रमणकारीका वहाँ पहुँचना अत्यन्त कठिन था

Transliteration

rāvaṇaḥ saṃvidhaṃ cakre laṅkāyāṃ śāstra-nirmitām | prakṛtyaiva durādharṣā dṛḍha-prākāra-toraṇā ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya berkata: Rāvaṇa menata di dalam Laṅkā pertahanan serta perlengkapan perang yang dibuat menurut ketentuan śāstra. Laṅkā pada hakikatnya sukar diserbu—tembok benteng dan gerbang-gerbangnya amat kokoh.

Word by Word

• {'rāvaṇaḥ': 'Rāvaṇa (proper name), the rākṣasa king', 'saṃvidham': 'arrangement, preparation, organization (of measures/defenses)', 'cakre': 'made, carried out, instituted', 'laṅkāyām': 'in Laṅkā (locative)', 'śāstra-nirmitām': 'constructed according to śāstra

• made by prescribed methods/technical treatises', 'prakṛtyā eva': 'by nature itself

• inherently', 'durādharṣā': 'hard to assail, difficult to overpower', 'dṛḍha': 'firm, strong, solid', 'prākāra': 'rampart, enclosing wall, fortification', 'toraṇā': 'gateway, gate-arch, main entrance structure'}

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Rāvaṇa
• Laṅkā
• fortifications (prākāra)
• gateways (toraṇa)
• śāstra-prescribed war apparatus/defenses