Shloka 19

धनंजयस्य आश्वासनम्

Dhanaṃjaya’s Reassurance and the Opening Engagement

Devanagari script

बिभ्रन्मालां महातेजा: पद्मोत्पलसमायुताम्‌ । विप्रेक्षष्माणो बहुभिनातृप्पत्‌ सुमहाहवम्‌

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | bibhran mālāṃ mahātejāḥ padmotpalasamāyutām | viprekṣamāṇo bahubhir na tṛpyat sumahāhavam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana disse: Resplandecente de grande esplendor, Indra trazia uma guirlanda tecida de lótus e lótus-azuis. Cercado pelos deuses postados em seus carros celestes, ele contemplava aquela poderosa batalha repetidas vezes, e ainda assim não se saciava—tão arrebatadores eram o valor de Arjuna e o combate justo que se desenrolava diante dele.

Word by Word

• बिभ्रन्: bearing, wearing
• बिभ्रन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भृ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मालाम्: garland
• मालाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: माला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• महातेजाः: the very radiant one
• महातेजाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महातेजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पद्मोत्पलसमायुताम्: joined with lotuses and water-lilies
• पद्मोत्पलसमायुताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पद्म + उत्पल + समायुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• विप्रेक्ष्यमाणः: looking at, beholding
• विप्रेक्ष्यमाणः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + प्रेक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: शानच् (वर्तमान कर्मणि/आत्मनेपद कृदन्त), पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• बहुभिः: with many
• बहुभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुं, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• नातृप्तः: not satisfied, not sated
• नातृप्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: न + तृप्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सुमहाहवम्: the very great battle
• सुमहाहवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु + महा + आहव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Indra (Vajradhara)
• Devas (gods)
• Vimānas (celestial chariots)
• Padma (lotus)
• Utpala (blue lotus)
• Arjuna (implied by context of the battle being watched)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how righteous valor and steadfast duty (dharma in action) can become worthy even of divine attention: the gods themselves delight in witnessing courage aligned with a just cause, suggesting that ethical conduct in conflict elevates human action to cosmic significance.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes Indra, adorned with a lotus garland and surrounded by gods in celestial vimānas, repeatedly watching a tremendous battle—understood in context as Arjuna’s extraordinary combat—so captivating that even repeated viewing does not satisfy him.