Shloka 5
Karṇa–Sūrya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dāna, and the Amoghā Śakti (कर्ण–सूर्यसंवादः)
मुसलालातनाराचतोमरासिपर श्वथैः । अन्विताश्न शतघ्नीभि: समधूच्छिष्टमुद्गरा:,मुसल, अलात (बनैठी), बाण, तोमर, तलवार, फरसे, मोमके मुद्गर तथा तोप आदि अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंके संग्रहके कारण भी वे खाइयाँ दुर्लघ्य थीं
musalālātanārācatomarāsiparaśvathaiḥ | anvitāś ca śataghnībhiḥ samadhūcchiṣṭamudgarāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Mārkaṇḍeya: “Mahirap tawirin ang mga trintserang iyon sapagkat nilagyan ang mga ito ng mga imbakan ng sandata—mga pamalo at sulo, mga palasong bakal, mga sibat, mga espada at mga palakol—kasama ang mga śataghnī at mabibigat na maso, na ang ilan ay may bahid pa ng usok at nalalabing baga. Dahil sa kasaganaan ng mga sandatang nakahanda roon, naging mapanganib ang paglapit at halos di-madaanan.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how the accumulation and readiness of weapons intensify danger and make even physical spaces (like trenches) morally and practically fraught—illustrating the escalatory nature of violence and the harsh realities of martial preparedness within kṣatriya contexts.
Mārkaṇḍeya describes defensive trenches that are difficult to cross because they are stocked with many kinds of weapons—clubs, firebrands, iron arrows, javelins, swords, axes, śataghnīs, and heavy maces—implying a fortified, warlike setting and imminent conflict.