Shloka 3

Aśvatthāmā’s Lamentation, Vow of Retaliation, and the Manifestation of the Nārāyaṇāstra (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय १६६)

Devanagari script

प्रदीपानां सहसैश्ष॒ दीप्यमानै: समनन्‍्तत: । रत्नाचितै: स्वर्णदण्डैर्गन्धतैलावसिज्चितै:,चारों ओर हजारों मशालें जल रही थीं। उनके डंडे सोनेके बने हुए थे और उनमें रत्न जड़े हुए थे। उन मशालोंपर सुगन्धित तेल डाला जाता था

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | pradīpānāṃ sahasraiś ca dīpyamānaiḥ samanantataḥ | ratnācitaiḥ svarṇadaṇḍair gandhatailāvasiñcitaiḥ ||

Translation

ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ದೀಪಗಳು/ಮಶಾಲೆಗಳು ಜ್ವಲಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ಅವುಗಳ ದಂಡಗಳು ಬಂಗಾರದವು, ರತ್ನಗಳಿಂದ ಅಲಂಕರಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟವು; ಅವುಗಳಿಗೆ ಸುಗಂಧ ತೈಲವನ್ನು ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿ ಸುರಿಯಲಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.

Word by Word

प्रदीपानाम्of lamps/torches

सहस्रैःby/with thousands

दीप्यमानैःshining, blazing

समन्ततःon all sides, all around

रत्नाचितैःadorned with gems

स्वर्णदण्डैःwith golden staffs/handles

गन्धतैलावसिक्तैःsprinkled/poured over with fragrant oil

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

lamps/torches (pradīpa)

golden staffs/handles (svarṇadaṇḍa)

jewels (ratna)

fragrant oil (gandhataila)

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 the contrast between external magnificence and the harsh reality of war: lavish arrangements and sensory beauty cannot erase the ethical weight of violence and the suffering it brings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a scene illuminated on all sides by thousands of blazing torches—gold-handled, jewel-inlaid, and kept burning with fragrant oil—setting the atmosphere for the events unfolding in the war narrative.