Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 67
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
गायनो हसनश्नैव बाण: खड्गश्न वीर्यवान् वैताली गतिताली च तथा कथकवातिकौ
gāyano hasanaś caiva bāṇaḥ khaḍgaś ca vīryavān | vaitālī gatitālī ca tathā kathakavātikau ||
Vaiśampāyana said: There were performers and entertainers—Gāyana and Hasana, and also the valiant Bāṇa and Khaḍga; likewise Vaitālī and Gatitālī, and also Kathaka and Vātika. (The narrative here catalogs named individuals associated with performance and courtly entertainment, suggesting the presence of bards, dancers, and storytellers within the royal milieu that surrounds the war-episode, reminding the listener that even amid conflict, courts retained their cultural retinues and public voices.)
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not present a direct moral injunction; its ethical implication is contextual: it records the presence of cultural functionaries (singers, jesters, storytellers, dancers) within royal society, indicating that public speech, praise, satire, and narrative performance were recognized social roles even during the upheaval of war.
Vaiśampāyana lists a set of named individuals—apparently performers or entertainers—forming part of a larger enumeration of people present in the royal/army setting in this section of Śalya Parva.
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