Shloka 8

Devanagari script

सुवर्णजालावतता महागजा: सवैजयन्तीध्वजयोधकल्पिता: । सुवर्णपुड्खैरिषुभि: समाचिता- श्षकाशिरे प्रज्वयलिता यथाचला:,सोनेकी जालियोंसे आच्छादित, वैजयन्ती ध्वजासे सुशोभित तथा योद्धाओंद्वारा सुसज्जित किये हुए बड़े-बड़े हाथी सुवर्णमय पंखवाले बाणोंसे व्याप्त हो प्रज्वलित पर्वतोंके समान प्रकाशित हो रहे थे

Transliteration

suvarṇajālāvatatā mahāgajāḥ savaijayantīdhvajayodhakalpitāḥ | suvarṇapuḍkhair iṣubhiḥ samācitāḥ prakāśire prajvalitā yathācalāḥ ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：那些巨大的战象披覆金网，饰以毗阇耶因提（Vaijayantī）之旌旗，备具战阵之装；又被无数羽翎镀金、闪耀如电的利箭密密覆盖，光辉灼然，宛如烈火焚燃的群山。此一意象加重了场面的道德分量：华丽与武备的炫示掩盖了残酷的真实——在一场令达摩承受重压的战争里，活生生的众生正被化作毁灭的器具。

Word by Word

• {'suvarṇa': 'gold', 'jāla': 'net, mesh', 'āvatata': 'spread out, draped, extended', 'mahāgaja': 'great elephant

• war-elephant', 'vaijayantī': 'a victory-banner/standard

• emblem of triumph', 'dhvaja': 'banner, flag', 'yodha': 'warrior, fighter', 'kalpita': 'arranged, equipped, made ready', 'puḍkha': 'fletching/feathering of an arrow', 'iṣu': 'arrow', 'samācita': 'filled, covered, heaped, crowded with', 'prakāśire': 'they shone, appeared radiant', 'prajvalita': 'blazing, aflame', 'yathā': 'like, as', 'acala': 'mountain (lit. immovable)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• mahāgajāḥ (war-elephants)
• vaijayantī-dhvaja (victory banners/standards)
• iṣavaḥ (arrows)
• acala (mountains)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how the outward brilliance of war—gold, banners, and spectacle—can mask its inner cost: living beings wounded and driven into violence. It invites reflection on dharma under pressure, where glory and destruction appear side by side.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene: massive elephants, decorated with golden netting and victory standards, are so covered with arrows bearing golden fletchings that they gleam like burning mountains.