Shloka 90

Kubera’s Fivefold Nīti and Protection of the Pāṇḍavas (वैश्रवणोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

चतुर्विषाणा: पद्माभा: कुड्जरा: सकरेणव:

Transliteration

caturviṣāṇāḥ padmābhāḥ kuḍjarāḥ sakareṇavaḥ

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—നാലു ദന്തങ്ങളുള്ള, പദ്മവർണ്ണാഭയുള്ള, പെണ്ണാനകളോടുകൂടിയ ആനകൾ (കാണപ്പെട്ടു).

Word by Word

चतुर्विषाणाःfour-tusked (lit. having four horns/tusks)

पद्माभाःlotus-like in appearance

कुञ्जराःelephants

सकरेणवःtogether with female elephants (cows)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

elephants (kuḍjara)

female elephants (kareṇu)

lotus (padma)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

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 primarily offers evocative description rather than direct instruction; its ethical-literary function is to frame the forest episode with auspicious and extraordinary natural imagery, suggesting that the world of dharma is accompanied by meaningful signs and a heightened attentiveness to nature’s order.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana describes a sight in the forest: remarkable elephants—depicted as four-tusked and lotus-hued—moving along with their females, contributing to the atmosphere of marvel and portent within the Vana Parva setting.