Shloka 16

Kāleya-Āśrama-Vināśaḥ — The Kāleyas’ nocturnal raids and the devas’ supplication to Nārāyaṇa

Devanagari script

करेणुभिवररिणैश्व प्रभिन्नकरटामुखै: । सरो<वगाढै: क्रीडद्धि:ः समन्‍्तादनुनादितम्‌,अपने कपोलोंसे मदकी धारा बहानेवाले हाथी और हथिनियाँ वहाँ सरोवरके जलनमें गोते लगाकर क्रीड़ाएँ कर रहे थे, जिससे आश्रमके चारों ओर कोलाहल-सा हो रहा था

Transliteration

kareṇūbhir vara-āriṇaiś ca prabhinnakaraṭāmukhaiḥ | saro'vagāḍhaiḥ krīḍadbhiḥ samantād anunāditam ||

Translation

قال لوماشا: «هناك كانت الفيلة والإناث منها—جبّارة، مسعورة بنشوة الهيجان، تسيل من صدغيها قطرات الإيخور—قد غاصت في البحيرة وأخذت تلهو في الماء. فكان لعبها يثير دويًّا يتردّد في كل جهة، حتى خُيّل أن نواحي الأشرم كلها قد امتلأت بالرنين.»

Word by Word

करेणुभिःby/with female elephants

वरारिणैःby/with excellent enemies (i.e., mighty ones)

चand

प्रभिन्नकरटामुखैःby/with those whose temples and faces were streaming (rut-fluid)

सरोवरगाढैःby/with those plunged deep in the lake

क्रीडद्भिःby/with (them) playing/sporting

समन्तात्on all sides, all around

अनुनादितम्resounded, made to echo

Speaker

लोगमश उवाच

Characters & Entities

Lomasa

elephants

female elephants (kareṇū)

lake (saras)

hermitage/āśrama (implied by context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse primarily offers vivid natural description rather than direct moral instruction; indirectly, it highlights the forest-āśrama setting as a living, resonant ecosystem where even powerful creatures move according to their nature, suggesting harmony between ascetic spaces and the wider natural world.

What is happening in the narrative?

Lomasa describes a scene near the hermitage: rutting elephants and cow-elephants have entered the lake, immersing themselves and playing, and the sound of their sport reverberates all around the area.