Shloka 17
Jarāsandha–Bhīma Niyuddha-prastāvaḥ
Commencement of the Regulated Duel
स्वपुरे स्थापयामास तेन चानहा चर्मणा । यत्र ता: प्राणदन् भेयों दिव्यपुष्पावचूर्णिता:,राजाने उन नगाड़ोंको उस राक्षसके चमड़ेसे मढ़ाकर अपने नगरमें रखवा दिया। जहाँ वे नगाड़े बजते थे, वहाँ दिव्य फूलोंकी वर्षा होने लगती थी
svapure sthāpayāmāsa tena cānahā carmaṇā | yatra tāḥ prāṇadan bheyo divyapuṣpāvacūrṇitāḥ ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：国王将那几面巨鼓安置在自己的城中，鼓架皆覆以那罗刹之皮。凡鼓声所至之处，便有天花纷纷飘落。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how royal power is publicly signaled through symbols and wonders: the king’s installation of drums covered with a rākṣasa’s hide becomes a spectacle, and the miraculous shower of flowers functions as an omen-like validation of extraordinary might—while also inviting ethical reflection on how violence is transformed into prestige.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the king brought certain kettledrums to his own city and had them covered with the hide of a rākṣasa. When these drums were beaten, divine flowers rained down wherever the sound carried, marking the event as wondrous and celebratory.