Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 6

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site

Devanagari script

उत्तेजनी जयत्सेना कमलाक्ष्यथ शोभना | शत्रुंजया तथा चैव क्रोधना शलभी खरी

Transliteration

uttejanī jayatsenā kamalākṣy atha śobhanā | śatruñjayā tathā caiva krodhanā śalabhī kharī ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “(There were) Uttejanī, Jayatsenā, Kamalākṣī, and also Śobhanā; likewise Śatruñjayā, and Krodhanā, Śalabhī, and Kharī.” In the war-narrative context, the verse functions as a catalog of named women, preserving memory and lineage by recording individual identities amid the larger violence of the Kurukṣetra events.

Word by Word

• उत्तेजनी: Uttejanī (a woman's name; the inciter/rouser)
• उत्तेजनी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तेजनी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• जयत्सेना: Jayatsenā (whose army conquers; a woman's name)
• जयत्सेना: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जयत्सेना
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• कमलाक्षी: Kamalākṣī (lotus-eyed; a woman's name)
• कमलाक्षी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कमलाक्षी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• अथ: and then / also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• शोभना: beautiful; splendid (a woman's name or epithet)
• शोभना: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोभन
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• शत्रुंजया: Śatruñjayā (conqueror of enemies; a woman's name)
• शत्रुंजया: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रुंजया
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• तथा: likewise / also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed / just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• क्रोधना: wrathful; angry (a woman's name or epithet)
• क्रोधना: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रोधन
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• शलभी: Śalabhī (a woman's name; lit. 'moth/locust')
• शलभी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शलभी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• खरी: Kharī (a woman's name; lit. 'she-donkey')
• खरी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: खरी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Uttejanī
• Jayatsenā
• Kamalākṣī
• Śobhanā
• Śatruñjayā
• Krodhanā
• Śalabhī
• Kharī

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is primarily documentary rather than didactic: it underscores how the epic preserves individual identities through careful naming, reminding readers that behind large-scale conflict stand distinct persons whose lives are worth recording.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues a list of women’s names within the Shalya Parva’s ongoing narration, presenting a catalog-style enumeration as part of the epic’s broader account of people connected to the events of the war.