Shloka 6
धनंजयस्य आश्वासनम्
Dhanaṃjaya’s Reassurance and the Opening Engagement
शतं शतसहस्राणां यत्र स्थूणा हिरण्मयी । मणिरत्नमयी चान्या प्रासादं तदधारयत्
śataṁ śata-sahasrāṇāṁ yatra sthūṇā hiraṇmayī | maṇi-ratna-mayī cānyā prāsādaṁ tad adhārayat ||
तेथे एक तेजस्वी प्रासाद उभा होता; असंख्य स्तंभांनी तो धारण केला होता—काही सुवर्णमय, तर काही मणी-रत्नांनी जडवलेले. त्या वैभवाने व दिव्य कारागिरीने तो इंद्रलोकाच्या ऐश्वर्याचीच आठवण करून देत होता.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily serves descriptive (kāvya-like) narration rather than direct moral instruction; it highlights how worldly and even celestial magnificence is constructed from material splendour, implicitly contrasting external grandeur with the inner virtues that the epic elsewhere upholds as true dharma.
Vaiśampāyana describes a magnificent palace or celestial-like structure, emphasizing its innumerable supporting pillars—some golden and others made of gems and precious stones—creating an atmosphere of extraordinary, Indra-like opulence.