Shloka 8

Devanagari script

सुवर्णजालावतता महागजा: सवैजयन्तीध्वजयोधकल्पिता: । सुवर्णपुड्खैरिषुभि: समाचिता- श्षकाशिरे प्रज्वयलिता यथाचला:,सोनेकी जालियोंसे आच्छादित, वैजयन्ती ध्वजासे सुशोभित तथा योद्धाओंद्वारा सुसज्जित किये हुए बड़े-बड़े हाथी सुवर्णमय पंखवाले बाणोंसे व्याप्त हो प्रज्वलित पर्वतोंके समान प्रकाशित हो रहे थे

Transliteration

suvarṇajālāvatatā mahāgajāḥ savaijayantīdhvajayodhakalpitāḥ | suvarṇapuḍkhair iṣubhiḥ samācitāḥ prakāśire prajvalitā yathācalāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Gajah-gajah perang yang besar, diselubungi jala emas, dihiasi panji Vaijayantī, dan diperlengkapi sepenuhnya untuk pertempuran, memancar—dipenuhi rapat oleh anak panah yang bulu ekornya berkilau keemasan—bagaikan gunung-gunung yang menyala oleh api. Gambaran ini menegaskan beban moral adegan itu: kemegahan dan pertunjukan ketenteraan menutupi hakikat ngeri bahawa makhluk hidup sedang dijadikan alat pemusnahan dalam perang yang menekan dharma.

Word by Word

• {'suvarṇa': 'gold', 'jāla': 'net, mesh', 'āvatata': 'spread out, draped, extended', 'mahāgaja': 'great elephant

• war-elephant', 'vaijayantī': 'a victory-banner/standard

• emblem of triumph', 'dhvaja': 'banner, flag', 'yodha': 'warrior, fighter', 'kalpita': 'arranged, equipped, made ready', 'puḍkha': 'fletching/feathering of an arrow', 'iṣu': 'arrow', 'samācita': 'filled, covered, heaped, crowded with', 'prakāśire': 'they shone, appeared radiant', 'prajvalita': 'blazing, aflame', 'yathā': 'like, as', 'acala': 'mountain (lit. immovable)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• mahāgajāḥ (war-elephants)
• vaijayantī-dhvaja (victory banners/standards)
• iṣavaḥ (arrows)
• acala (mountains)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how the outward brilliance of war—gold, banners, and spectacle—can mask its inner cost: living beings wounded and driven into violence. It invites reflection on dharma under pressure, where glory and destruction appear side by side.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene: massive elephants, decorated with golden netting and victory standards, are so covered with arrows bearing golden fletchings that they gleam like burning mountains.