Shloka 26

Devanagari script

प्रमाणरागस्पर्शाब्यं बाह्लीचीनसमुद्धवम्‌ । ऑऔर्ण च राड़कवं चैव कीटजं पट्टजं तथा

Transliteration

pramāṇarāgasparśābhyāṃ bāhlīcīnasamudbhavam | aurṇaṃ ca rāḍakavaṃ caiva kīṭajaṃ paṭṭajaṃ tathā

Translation

杜尤陀那说：“又有各样织物与衣裳——以其尺寸、染色与触感见长——出自巴赫利迦与中国：羊毛织物、名为‘罗陀迦婆’的细布，以及由虫所生的丝织品，并有帕塔（丝绸）之布。”

Word by Word

प्रमाणby measure/standard

रागby dye/coloring

स्पर्शाभ्याम्by (its) touch/feel (twofold)

बाह्लीचीनBahlika-made / from Bahlika (Bactria)

समुद्भवम्arisen/produced

और्णम्woollen

चand

राड़कवम्a kind of cloth/blanket (rāḍakava)

चand

एवindeed/just

कीटजम्insect-produced (e.g., silk/lac-derived)

पट्टजम्silken (from paṭṭa/silk)

तथाlikewise/also

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

द

दुर्योधन (Duryodhana)

ब

बाह्लीक (Bāhlīka/Bactria region)

च

चीन (Cīna/China)

ऊ

ऊर्ण (wool)

र

राड़कव (rāḍakava cloth)

क

कीटज (insect-born silk)

प

पट्ट (paṭṭa silk)

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 verse underscores how fascination with luxury and imported prestige goods can become a marker of power and status in the court, feeding attachment and rivalry—conditions that, in the Sabha Parva’s ethical landscape, contribute to adharma and the unraveling of restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana is listing valuable textiles—woollen cloth, named fine fabrics, and silks (including insect-produced silk)—noting their foreign origin (Bāhlīka and China). The line functions as part of an inventory-like description of wealth and splendor associated with courtly display.