Shloka 67

Devanagari script

सहस्रमश्वा एकैकं हस्तिनं पृष्ठतो<न्वयु: । गवां सहस्रमश्वे5श्वे सहस्त्रं गव्यजाविकम्‌,'प्रत्येक हाथीके पीछे एक-एक हजार घोड़े, हर एक घोड़के पीछे हजार-हजार गायें और एक-एक गायके साथ हजार-हजार भेड़-बकरियाँ चल रही थीं

Transliteration

sahasram aśvā ekaikaṃ hastinaṃ pṛṣṭhato 'nvayuḥ | gavāṃ sahasram aśve 'śve sahasraṃ gavyajāvikam ||

Translation

風神ヴァーユは言った。「象一頭の後ろには千の馬が従い、馬一頭の後ろには千の牛が従った。さらに牛一頭ごとに、千の羊と山羊が連なって進んだ。」

Word by Word

सहस्रम्a thousand

अश्वाःhorses

एकैकम्each (one by one)

हस्तिनम्elephant

पृष्ठतःfrom behind/behind

अन्वयुःfollowed

गवाम्of cows

सहस्रम्a thousand

अश्वेbehind/with respect to a horse (i.e., after each horse)

सहस्रम्a thousand

गव्यजाविकम्cows-and-goats-and-sheep (livestock)

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu (Vāyudeva)

elephants

horses

cows

sheep

goats

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights abundance and orderly provisioning—wealth is portrayed as something that can sustain many and enable generosity (dāna) and support of dependents, aligning prosperity with dharmic responsibility rather than mere ostentation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu describes a vast retinue moving in sequence: each elephant is followed by a thousand horses, each horse by a thousand cows, and each cow by a thousand sheep and goats—an image of an enormous, well-supplied procession or entourage.