Shloka 9

Khāṇḍava-dāha: Indra’s Countermeasures and the Nāga Aśvasena’s Escape (आदि पर्व, अध्याय २१८)

Devanagari script

रौक्मिणेयश्न साम्बश्न क्षीबौ समरदुर्मदौ | दिव्यमाल्याम्बरधरौ विजद्वातेडमराविव,युद्धमें दुर्मद वीरवर प्रद्युम्म और साम्ब दिव्य मालाएँ तथा दिव्य वस्त्र धारण करके आनन्दसे उन्मत्त हो देवताओंकी भाँति विहार करते थे

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

raukmiṇeyaś ca sāmbaś ca kṣībau samaradurmadau |

divyamālyāmbaradharau vijadvatāmarāv iva ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Pradyumna (son of Rukmiṇī) and Sāmba, intoxicated with exhilaration and made fiercely proud by battle, wore divine garlands and splendid garments, and moved about joyfully like the gods themselves. The verse highlights the heady, morally risky elation that can follow victory—where heroic prowess easily turns into overconfidence.

Word by Word

• रौक्मिणेयः: Rukmiṇī’s son (Pradyumna)
• रौक्मिणेयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रौक्मिणेय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• साम्बः: Sāmba
• साम्बः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: साम्ब
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• क्षीबौ: intoxicated, exhilarated
• क्षीबौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षीब
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• समर-दुर्मदौ: arrogant in battle / hard to subdue in battle
• समर-दुर्मदौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समर-दुर्मद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• दिव्य-माल्य-अम्बर-धरौ: wearing divine garlands and garments
• दिव्य-माल्य-अम्बर-धरौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य-माल्य-अम्बर-धर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• विजद्वात-इडमरौ: Vijadvāta and Iḍamara (as read in the given text)
• विजद्वात-इडमरौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विजद्वात-इडमर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pradyumna (Raukmiṇeya)
• Sāmba
• Devas (Amarāḥ)
• Divine garlands (divya-mālya)
• Divine garments (divya-ambara)
• Battle/war (samara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse implicitly warns that success in war can intoxicate even great heroes; ethical strength lies not only in valor but in restraint after victory, when pride and revelry can cloud judgment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes Pradyumna and Sāmba after (or amid) martial success: exhilarated and overconfident, adorned with splendid garlands and clothing, they roam about joyfully, compared to gods in their carefree splendor.