Shloka 15
उलूकदूतवाक्यम् / Ulūka’s Message to the Pāṇḍavas
Devanagari script
सैन्येन महा तेन प्रभूतगजवाजिना
Transliteration
sainyena mahā tena prabhūtagajavājinā
Translation
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。象と馬に満ちたその विशालな軍勢をもって、進軍と戦支度は圧倒的な力の誇示として描かれ、正しき義務（ダルマ）と戦の破壊的な奔流とのあいだに生じる倫理の緊張を予兆する。
Word by Word
सैन्येनby/with the army
सैन्येन:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootसैन्य
FormNeuter, Instrumental, Singular
महाgreat
महा:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootमहत्
FormNeuter, Instrumental, Singular
तेनby/with that
तेन:
Karana
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
FormNeuter, Instrumental, Singular
प्रभूतगजवाजिनाwith abundant elephants and horses
प्रभूतगजवाजिना:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootप्रभूतगजवाजिन्
FormNeuter, Instrumental, Singular
Speaker
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Characters & Entities
A
Army (sainya)E
Elephants (gaja)H
Horses (vājin)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The line highlights how sheer military abundance—elephants and cavalry—can drive events toward war, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical concern: power and preparedness must be governed by dharma, or they become instruments of ruin.
Vaiśampāyana describes the presence or movement of a massive, well-equipped force, emphasizing its scale and resources (especially elephants and horses), as the story advances toward open conflict.