Shloka 15

उलूकदूतवाक्यम् / Ulūka’s Message to the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

सैन्येन महा तेन प्रभूतगजवाजिना

Transliteration

sainyena mahā tena prabhūtagajavājinā

Translation

हत्ती-घोड्यांनी परिपूर्ण अशा त्या प्रचंड सैन्यासह कूच व युद्धतयारी ही जणू अपार सामर्थ्याचे प्रदर्शनच भासली—धर्मकर्तव्य आणि युद्धाच्या विध्वंसक प्रवाहातील नैतिक ताण याचा पूर्वसंकेत देणारी।

Word by Word

• सैन्येन: by/with the army
• सैन्येन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• महा: great
• महा: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• तेन: by/with that
• तेन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रभूतगजवाजिना: with abundant elephants and horses
• प्रभूतगजवाजिना: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रभूतगजवाजिन्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Army (sainya)
• Elephants (gaja)
• Horses (vājin)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.