Mahabharata — Drona Parva, Shloka 4

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 107: Karṇa–Bhīma Saṃmarda

Arrow-storm Engagement

Devanagari script

काज्चना: काञज्चनापीडा: काञ्चनस्रगलंकृता: । काज्चनानीव शुड्राणि काञ्चनस्य महागिरे:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | kāñcanāḥ kāñcanapīḍāḥ kāñcanasragalaṅkṛtāḥ | kāñcanānīva śṛṅgāṇi kāñcanasya mahāgireḥ ||

Translation

அவை பொன்னால் ஆன கொடிகள்; பொன்னாலான உச்சிமுடிகளால் முடிசூட்டப்பட்டவை; பொன் மாலைகளால் அலங்கரிக்கப்பட்டவை. அவை பொன்மயமான மகாபர்வதம் சுமேருவின் பொன் சிகரங்களைப் போல ஒளிர்ந்தன.

Word by Word

• काञ्चनाः: golden
• काञ्चनाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काञ्चन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• काञ्चन-पीडाः: having golden bases/footings (pedestals)
• काञ्चन-पीडाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काञ्चन-पीडा
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• काञ्चन-स्रक्-अलंकृताः: adorned with golden garlands
• काञ्चन-स्रक्-अलंकृताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काञ्चन-स्रक्-अलंकृत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• काञ्चनानि: golden (things)
• काञ्चनानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काञ्चन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• शृङ्गाणि: peaks, summits
• शृङ्गाणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शृङ्ग
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• काञ्चनस्य: of gold / of the golden (mountain)
• काञ्चनस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: काञ्चन
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• महागिरेः: of the great mountain
• महागिरेः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महागिरि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• golden standards/flags (dhvajāḥ implied)
• Mount Sumeru (implied by the Hindi gloss)
• a great golden mountain (mahāgiri)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how outward grandeur—golden standards and ornaments—can magnify the spectacle of war; it implicitly contrasts martial splendor with the grave human cost that such display often masks.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield array, focusing on the brilliant golden standards/crests and garlands that make the scene gleam like the golden peaks of a great mountain (evoking Sumeru).