Shloka 63

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 114 — Karṇa–Bhīmasena Missile Exchange, Disarmament, and Arjuna’s Intervention

Devanagari script

लोहिताक्षो बभौ तत्र मदविद्वललोचन: । आलकभ्य वीरकांस्यं च हर्षण महतान्वित:,ब्राह्मणोंके आशीर्वाद पाकर तेजस्वी पुरुषोंमें श्रेष्ठ एवं मधुपर्कके अधिकारी सात्यकिने कैलातक नामक मधुका पान किया। उसे पीते ही उनकी आँखें लाल हो गयीं। मदसे नेत्र चंचल हो उठे, फिर उन्होंने अत्यन्त हर्षमें भरकर वीरकांस्यपात्रका स्पर्श किया। उस समय प्रज्वलित अग्निके समान रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ सात्यकिका तेज दूना हो गया। उन्होंने बाणसहित धनुषको गोदमें लेकर ब्राह्मणोंके मुखसे स्वस्तिवाचनका कार्य सम्पन्न कराकर कवच एवं आभूषण धारण किये, फिर कुमारी कन्याओंने लावा, गन्ध तथा पुष्पमालाओंसे उनका पूजन एवं अभिनन्दन किया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

lohitākṣo babhau tatra madavidvalalocanaḥ |

ālakhya vīrakāṃsyaṃ ca harṣaṇa mahatānvitāḥ ||

Translation

लोहिताक्षो बभौ तत्र मदविद्वललोचनः । आलभ्य वीरकांस्यं च हर्षेण महतान्वितः ॥

Word by Word

लोहिताक्षःred-eyed

बभौshone/appeared

तत्रthere

मदविद्वललोचनःwhose eyes were unsteady due to intoxication

आलकभ्यhaving touched/laid hold of

वीरकांस्यंthe hero’s bronze vessel (vessel named vīrakāṃsya)

चand

हर्षेणwith joy

महताgreat

अन्वितःendowed (with)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Sātyaki (implied by the accompanying prose context)

vīrakāṃsya (bronze vessel)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights how martial energy is ritually and socially framed: exhilaration (harṣa/mada) is not merely personal impulse but is placed within auspicious observance and warrior discipline, suggesting that power should be accompanied by sanctioned conduct and communal blessing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior (understood in context as Sātyaki) becoming visibly exhilarated—his eyes redden and his gaze turns unsteady—then he handles a heroic bronze vessel, signaling heightened readiness and spirited resolve as part of a ceremonially charged pre-battle moment.