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 said: The king had made sixty thousand golden elephants, and also six hundred more; and he bestowed those golden elephants upon the Brāhmaṇas as gifts—an act presented as royal generosity expressed through lavish dāna (charitable giving) toward the priestly community.

Word by Word

• षष्टिनागसहस्राणि: sixty thousand elephants
• षष्टिनागसहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि-नाग-सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• षष्टिनागशतानि: sixty hundred elephants (i.e., six thousand elephants)
• षष्टिनागशतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि-नाग-शत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

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

• सौवर्णान्: golden
• सौवर्णान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सौवर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अकरोत्: made/caused to be made
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ब्राह्मणेभ्यः: to the Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणेभ्यः: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Plural

• तान्: those (elephants)
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• ददौ: gave
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा
• Form: Perfect (Lit), 3rd, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• the king (rājā)
• Brāhmaṇas
• golden elephants (sauvarṇa-nāga)

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.