Shloka 15

हिरण्यपुरवर्णनम्

Description of Hiraṇyapura and the Nivātakavacas

Devanagari script

ऐरावणो नागराजो वामन: कुमुदो55जन: । प्रसूता: सुप्रतीकस्य वंशे वारणसत्तमा:

Transliteration

airāvaṇo nāgarājo vāmanaḥ kumudo janaḥ | prasūtāḥ supratīkasya vaṃśe vāraṇasattamāḥ ||

Translation

قال نارادا: «إيرافَنة، سيدُ الناغا؛ وفامَنة؛ وكومودا؛ وجَنا—هؤلاء من أكرم الفيلة وُلدوا في سلالة سوبْراتيكا.»

Word by Word

ऐरावणःAirāvata (name of a nāga/elephant)

नागराजःking of nāgas

वामनःVāmana (name)

कुमुदःKumuda (name)

जनःJana (name/person)

प्रसूताःborn/produced (offspring)

सुप्रतीकस्यof Supratīka (the well-marked one; proper name)

वंशेin the lineage

वारणसत्तमाःbest of elephants (excellent vāraṇas)

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Airāvaṇa

Nāgarāja

Vāmana

Kumuda

Jana

Supratīka

Vāraṇa (elephants, as a class)

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 underscores the epic’s emphasis on lineage and provenance: greatness (here, ‘foremost elephants’) is situated within a recognized line (vaṃśa), reflecting the Mahābhārata’s broader habit of grounding status and authority in genealogy and inherited tradition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is listing notable beings and their origins. In this segment he names several eminent elephants and states that they were born in the lineage of Supratīka, as part of a larger catalog of lineages and distinguished figures.