Shloka 4

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 107: Karṇa–Bhīma Saṃmarda

Arrow-storm Engagement

Devanagari script

काज्चना: काञज्चनापीडा: काञ्चनस्रगलंकृता: । काज्चनानीव शुड्राणि काञ्चनस्य महागिरे:,वे ध्वज सोनेके बने थे। उनके ऊपरी भागको सुवर्णसे ही सजाया गया था। सोनेकी ही मालाओंसे वे अलंकृत थे। अतः सुवर्णमय महापर्वत सुमेरुके स्वर्णमय शिखरोंके समान सुशोभित होते थे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | kāñcanāḥ kāñcanapīḍāḥ kāñcanasragalaṅkṛtāḥ | kāñcanānīva śṛṅgāṇi kāñcanasya mahāgireḥ ||

Translation

ಆ ಧ್ವಜಗಳು ಚಿನ್ನಿನವು; ಚಿನ್ನಿನ ಶಿಖರಗಳಿಂದ ಮಕುಟಿತವಾಗಿದ್ದವು ಮತ್ತು ಚಿನ್ನಿನ ಹಾರಗಳಿಂದ ಅಲಂಕರಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದವು. ಅವು ಚಿನ್ನಿನ ಮಹಾಪರ್ವತ ಸುಮೇರುವಿನ ಚಿನ್ನಿನ ಶೃಂಗಗಳಂತೆ ಕಂಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು.

Word by Word

काञ्चनाःgolden

काञ्चन-पीडाःhaving golden bases/footings (pedestals)

काञ्चन-स्रक्-अलंकृताःadorned with golden garlands

काञ्चनानिgolden (things)

इवlike, as if

शृङ्गाणिpeaks, summits

काञ्चनस्यof gold / of the golden (mountain)

महागिरेःof the great mountain

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

golden standards/flags (dhvajāḥ implied)

Mount Sumeru (implied by the Hindi gloss)

a great golden mountain (mahāgiri)

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 outward grandeur—golden standards and ornaments—can magnify the spectacle of war; it implicitly contrasts martial splendor with the grave human cost that such display often masks.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield array, focusing on the brilliant golden standards/crests and garlands that make the scene gleam like the golden peaks of a great mountain (evoking Sumeru).