Shloka 38
Drupada’s Putrakāmeṣṭi: The Sacrificial Birth of Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Kṛṣṇā
घटो हास्योत्कच इति माता त॑ प्रत्यभाषत । अब्रवीत् तेन नामास्य घटोत्कच इति सम ह,बालककी माताने भीमसेनसे कहा--“इसका घट (सिर) उत्कच- अर्थात् केशरहित है।' उसके इस कथनसे ही उसका नाम घटोत्कच हो गया
ghaṭo hāsyotkaca iti mātā taṁ pratyabhāṣata | abravīt tena nāmāsya ghaṭotkaca iti sama ha |
বৈশম্পায়ন বললেন—মাতা সেই শিশুকে সম্বোধন করে বললেন, “এর মাথা ঘটের মতো, আর এ উৎকচ—অর্থাৎ কেশহীন।” সেই কথাতেই তার নাম স্থির হলো—ঘটোৎকচ।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Words can crystallize identity: a single descriptive utterance may become a lasting name and social memory, reminding readers to speak thoughtfully and recognize how labels shape perception.
The narrator explains how the child received the name Ghaṭotkaca: his mother jokingly described him as ‘pot-headed’ and ‘shorn/hairless,’ and that description became his established name.