Shloka 16
Ulūpī–Citravāhinī Saṃvāda: Dhanaṃjaya-patana and Prāya-threat
परमार्चितमुच्छित्य ध्वजं सिंहं हिरण्मयम् | प्रययौ पार्थमुद्दिश्य स राजा बभ्रुवाहन:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | paramārcitam ucchitya dhvajaṁ siṁhaṁ hiraṇmayam | prayayau pārtham uddiśya sa rājā babhruvāhanaḥ ||
परमार्चितमुच्छ्रित्य ध्वजं सिंहं हिरण्मयम् । प्रययौ पार्थमुद्दिश्य स राजा बभ्रुवाहनः ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
External grandeur—gold, banners, royal emblems—signals readiness and honor, but the deeper ethical weight lies in intention and duty: a kṣatriya advances to a confrontation that must be governed by dharma, not mere pride.
The narrator describes King Babhruvāhana setting out to meet Arjuna in battle, marked by a raised golden banner with a lion emblem—an image of formal martial challenge and royal resolve.