Shloka 4

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

Devanagari script

कपाटलयन्त्रदुर्धर्षा बभूवु: सहुडोपला: । साशीविषघटायोधा: ससर्जरसपांसव:,“मजबूत किवाड़ लगे थे और गोला बरसानेवाले यन्त्र (मशीनें) यथास्थान लगे थे। इनके सिवा वहाँ बहुत-से शृंग और गोले जमा किये गये थे। इन सब कारणोंसे इन खाइयोंको पार करना बहुत कठिन था। विषधर सर्पोंके समूह, सैनिक, सर्जरस (लाह) और धूल--इन सबसे संयुक्त और सुरक्षित होनेके कारण भी वे खाइयाँ दुर्गम थीं

Transliteration

kapāṭa-yantra-durdharṣā babhūvuḥ sahuḍopalāḥ | sa-āśīviṣa-ghaṭā-yodhāḥ sa-sarjara-pāṃsavaḥ ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “They had become impregnable with stout gates and hard-to-assail engines set in place, along with heaps of stones and missiles. They were further secured by bands of venomous serpents, detachments of warriors, and by stores of sarjara (lac/resin) and dust—so that crossing those trenches was exceedingly difficult.”

Word by Word

कपाटलयन्त्रदुर्धर्षाःhard to assail because of door-fastening devices

बभूवुःbecame / were

सwith / along with

हुडोपलाःstones/boulders (for hurling)

सwith / along with

आशीविषघटाःpots/jars of venomous snakes (i.e., containing vipers)

अयोधाःnot to be fought with / formidable

सwith / along with

सर्जरसपांसवःlac-resin and dust (clouds of dust)

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

kapāṭa (gates/doors)

yantra (engines/devices)

upala (stones)

āśīviṣa (venomous serpents)

yodhāḥ (warriors/soldiers)

sarjara (lac/resin)

pāṃsu (dust)

khāyāḥ (trenches/moats, implied by context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how layered defenses—mechanical, material, and living—can make an obstacle nearly insurmountable, underscoring the ethical reality that violence and fear often escalate through strategic ingenuity rather than righteousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya describes formidable defensive arrangements: strong gates, engines, piles of stones/missiles, and additional protections such as venomous serpents, stationed warriors, and materials like lac/resin and dust, making the trenches/moats extremely hard to cross.