Shloka 27

Devanagari script

पद्मोत्पलापीडधरास्तथा मुकुटधारिण: । माहात्म्येन च संयुक्ताः शतशो5थ सहस्रश:

Transliteration

padmotpalāpīḍadharās tathā mukuṭadhāriṇaḥ | māhātmyena ca saṃyuktāḥ śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “They bore garlands and chaplets of lotuses and blue lotuses, and they wore crowns. Endowed with divine majesty, they appeared in hundreds and in thousands.”

Word by Word

• पद्मोत्पलापीडधराः: bearing garlands/chaplets of lotus and water-lily
• पद्मोत्पलापीडधराः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पद्मोत्पलापीडधर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: also/likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• मुकुटधारिणः: wearing crowns
• मुकुटधारिणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुकुटधारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• माहात्म्येन: with greatness/majesty
• माहात्म्येन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

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

• संयुक्ताः: endowed/associated (with)
• संयुक्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + युज्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, Past passive participle (क्त)

• शतशः: by hundreds
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतशस्

• अथ: and/then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• सहस्रशः: by thousands
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• padma (lotus)
• utpala (blue lotus)
• āpīḍa (chaplet/diadem)
• mukuṭa (crown)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid the moral darkness of the Sauptika episode, the text uses regal and auspicious symbols (lotus-wreaths, crowns, majesty) to mark the presence of extraordinary beings and to remind the listener that events unfold under forces larger than human rage—inviting discernment about power, legitimacy, and the ethical weight of actions in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a multitude of majestic figures appearing—adorned with lotus/blue-lotus head-ornaments and crowns—present in vast numbers (hundreds and thousands), emphasizing their splendor and supernatural stature within the unfolding Sauptika Parva scene.