Shloka 20

Rājasūyābhiṣeka-darśana: Duryodhana’s Observation of the Consecration

Devanagari script

त्रिशतं चोष्टवामीनां शतानि विचरन्त्युत । राजन्या बलिमादाय समेता हि नृपक्षये,उन्हींकी भेजी हुई सैकड़ों हथिनियाँ, सहस्रों गायें और घोड़े तथा तीस-तीस हजार ऊँट और घोड़ियाँ वहाँ विचरती थीं। सभी राजालोग भेंट लेकर युधिष्ठिरके भवनमें एकत्र हुए थे

Transliteration

triśataṃ coṣṭavāmīnāṃ śatāni vicaranty uta | rājanyā balim ādāya sametā hi nṛpakṣaye ||

Translation

ドゥルヨーダナは言った。「さらに雌の駱駝も、幾百幾百と群れて歩き回っていた。王侯貴族は貢納を携え、王の御殿に集い合っていた。」

Word by Word

त्रिशतम्three hundred

चand

उष्टवामीनाम्of she-camels

शतानिhundreds

विचरन्तिthey roam / move about

उतalso / moreover

राजन्याःkings / royal persons

बलिम्tribute / offering

आदायhaving taken / bringing

समेताःassembled / gathered

हिindeed / for

नृपक्षयेin the royal residence / at the king's abode

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duryodhana

rājanyāḥ (kings/nobles)

bali (tribute)

uṣṭrā-vāmī (she-camels)

nṛpakṣaya (royal residence)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how political authority is publicly affirmed through tribute and visible abundance; ethically, it invites reflection on whether sovereignty is grounded in dharma or merely in the display and extraction of wealth.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana describes the scene of great material plenty—large numbers of animals and the gathering of kings who have brought tribute—assembled at the royal residence, emphasizing the grandeur and reach of the ruler’s influence.