Shloka 20

उच्चैःश्रवसः वर्णविपणः तथा नागशापः

Uccaiḥśravas Color-Wager and the Nāga Curse

Devanagari script

तत्र नाना जलचरा विनिष्पिष्टा महाद्रिणा । विलयं समुपाजग्मु: शतशो लवणाम्भसि,उस समय उस महान पर्वतके द्वारा सैकड़ों जलचर जन्तु पिस गये और खारे पानीके उस महासागरमें विलीन हो गये

Transliteration

tatra nānā jalacarā viniṣpiṣṭā mahādriṇā | vilayaṃ samupājagmuḥ śataśo lavaṇāmbhasi ||

Translation

Dort wurden Hunderte verschiedenartiger Wasserwesen unter jenem mächtigen Berg zerquetscht und gingen in den salzigen Wassern des großen Meeres zugrunde, bis sie sich auflösten. Die Szene macht deutlich, dass überwältigende Kraft, wenn sie ohne Zügel entfesselt wird, den Schutzlosen jähe Vernichtung bringt.

Word by Word

तत्रthere

नानाvarious, many kinds of

जलचराःaquatic creatures

विनिष्पिष्टाःcrushed, ground down

महाद्रिणाby the great mountain

विलयम्dissolution, destruction

समुपाजग्मुःthey reached, they came to

शतशःby hundreds, in hundreds

लवणाम्भसिin the salty water (sea)

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

श

शौनक (Śaunaka)

म

महाद्रि (a great mountain)

ल

लवणाम्भस् / समुद्र (salt sea/ocean)

ज

जलचर (aquatic creatures)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the disproportionate harm that immense power can inflict on weaker beings, pointing to the ethical idea that unchecked force leads to needless destruction and reminds us of the fragility of life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka describes a scene where a huge mountain presses down into the sea, crushing many kinds of aquatic creatures; they then perish and disappear into the salt waters.