Shloka 57
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
कलि: पञठ्चदशश्लैव नारदक्षात्र षोडश: । ऋत्वा बृहत्त्वा बृहक: करालश्न महामना:,भीमसेन तथा उग्रसेन, ऊर्णायु और अनघ, गोपति एवं धृतराष्ट्र, सूर्यवर्चा तथा आठवें युगप, तृणप, कार्ष्णि, नन्दि एवं चित्ररथ, तेरहवें शालिशिरा और चौदहवें पर्जन्य, पंद्रहवें कलि और सोलहवें नारद, ऋत्वा और बृहत्त्वा, बृहक एवं महामना कराल, ब्रह्मचारी तथा विख्यात गुणवान् सुवर्ण, विश्वावसु एवं भुमन्यु, सुचन्द्र और शरु तथा गीतमाधुर्यसे सम्पन्न सुविख्यात हाहा और हूहू--राजन्! ये सब देवगन्धर्व वहाँ पधारे थे
kaliḥ pañcadaśaś caiva nārada-kṣātra ṣoḍaśaḥ | ṛtvā bṛhattvā bṛhakaḥ karālaś ca mahāmanāḥ || bhīmasena tathā ugrasenāḥ ūrṇāyuś cānaghaḥ | gopatiś ca dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ sūryavarcāś ca yugapaḥ || tṛṇapaḥ kārṣṇir nandiś ca citrarathaś ca (iti) | śāliśirā trayodaśaḥ parjanyaś caturdaśaḥ || pañcadaśaḥ kaliḥ ṣoḍaśaś ca nāradaḥ | ṛtvā bṛhattvā bṛhakaś ca mahāmanāḥ karālaḥ || brahmacārī ca vikhyātaḥ guṇavān suvarṇaḥ | viśvāvasuś ca bhūmanyuḥ sucandraḥ śaruś ca || gītamādhurya-sampannau suvikhyātau hāhā-hūhū | rājan ete sarve deva-gandharvāḥ tatra samāgatāḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Kali was the fifteenth, and Nārada—born in the Kṣatra line—was the sixteenth. Also present were Ṛtvā, Bṛhattvā, Bṛhaka, and the great-souled Karāla; Bhīmasena and Ugrasena; Ūrṇāyu and Anagha; Gopati and Dhṛtarāṣṭra; Sūryavarcā and Yugapa; Tṛṇapa, Kārṣṇi, Nandi, and Citraratha; Śāliśirā as the thirteenth and Parjanya as the fourteenth. Again were named Kali as the fifteenth and Nārada as the sixteenth, along with Ṛtvā, Bṛhattvā, Bṛhaka, and Karāla the great-souled; the famed Brahmacārin, the virtuous Suvarṇa; Viśvāvasu and Bhūmanyu; Sucandra and Śaru; and the widely renowned Hāhā and Hūhū, endowed with sweetness of song. O King, all these divine Gandharvas had assembled there.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes the grandeur and ordered enumeration of celestial attendees—especially Gandharvas famed for music—highlighting how epic events are witnessed and validated by divine beings, and how excellence (like mastery of song) is recognized as a virtue within the cosmic order.
Vaiśaṃpāyana is listing by name a group of divine Gandharvas who arrived and assembled at a particular gathering, noting their order (13th–16th) and distinguishing some by qualities such as noble-mindedness and sweetness of song.