Shloka 10

पाण्डवसेनानायकाभिषेकः तथा बलरामागमन-उपदेशः | Appointment of Pandava Commanders and Balarama’s Counsel

Devanagari script

रुक्मजालप्रतिच्छन्ना नानामणिविभूषिता: । चित्रानीका: सुवपुषो ज्वलिता इव पावका:,वे सभी सैनिक सोनेके जालीदार कवच धारण किये नाना प्रकारके मणिमय आभूषणोंसे विभूषित हो समस्त सेनाको ही विचित्र शोभासे सम्पन्न करते हुए अपने सुन्दर शरीरसे प्रज्वलित अग्निके समान प्रकाशित हो रहे थे

Transliteration

rukmajālapraticchannā nānāmaṇivibhūṣitāḥ | citrānīkāḥ suvapuṣo jvalitā iva pāvakāḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：那些武士身披金色网纹铠甲，佩戴种种宝石饰物；阵列斑斓多姿，体魄俊美，使全军都显得辉煌灿然，光耀如熊熊烈火。

Word by Word

रुक्मजालप्रतिच्छन्नाःcovered with a golden mesh (armor)

नानामणिविभूषिताःadorned with various gems

चित्रानीकाःhaving variegated ranks/formations

सुवपुषःof handsome bodies

ज्वलिताःblazing, shining

इवas if, like

पावकाःfires

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

army/warriors (senā, anīka)

golden mesh armour (rukmajāla)

jeweled ornaments (maṇi-vibhūṣaṇa)

fire (pāvaka)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the seductive brilliance of martial display—wealth, armour, and ornamentation—showing how external splendour can magnify the drive toward battle. In the ethical atmosphere of Udyoga Parva (the effort to avert war), such imagery implicitly contrasts appearance and power with the grave moral consequences of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the assembled soldiers: they wear golden mesh-like armour and jeweled ornaments, stand in striking battle formations, and shine with a fiery radiance. It is a visual intensification of the war-preparations that characterize Udyoga Parva.