Shloka 41

Duḥṣanta at Kaṇva-Āśrama; Śakuntalā’s Reception and Origin Prelude (दुःषन्तस्य कण्वाश्रमागमनम्)

Devanagari script

शेषो5नन्तो वासुकिश्न तक्षकश्न भुजड्भम: । कूर्मश्न॒ कुलिकश्नैव काद्रवेया: प्रकीर्तिता:,शेष, अनन्त, वासुकि, तक्षक, कूर्म और कुलिक आदि नागगण कढ्रूके पुत्र कहलाते हैं

Transliteration

śeṣo 'nanto vāsukiś ca takṣakaś ca bhujagaḥ | kūrmaś ca kulikaś caiva kādraveyāḥ prakīrtitāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: «Śeṣa, Ananta, Vāsuki, Takṣaka, ebenso die Schlangen Bhujaga, Kūrma und Kulika — diese werden als die Söhne Kadrus gerühmt.» Die Erzählung hebt die anerkannten Abstammungslinien unter den Nāgas hervor; eine genealogische Ordnung, die später ihre Rollen, Rivalitäten und Pflichten im moralischen Kosmos des Epos rahmt.

Word by Word

शेषःŚeṣa (name of a serpent)

अनन्तःAnanta (name of a serpent)

वासुकिःVāsuki (name of a serpent)

तक्षकःTakṣaka (name of a serpent)

भुजङ्गमाःserpents

कूर्मःKūrma (name of a serpent)

कुलिकःKulika (name of a serpent)

एवindeed/also

काद्रवेयाःsons/descendants of Kadrū

प्रकीर्तिताःare proclaimed/are said

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Śeṣa

Ananta

Vāsuki

Takṣaka

Bhujaga

Kūrma

Kulika

Kadru

Nāgas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the importance of recognized lineage and naming within the epic tradition: beings and communities are situated through ancestry, which later informs duties, alliances, and consequences in the moral narrative.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana lists prominent Nāgas—Śeṣa/Ananta, Vāsuki, Takṣaka, and others—and identifies them as Kadru’s offspring, establishing the serpent genealogy that becomes relevant in subsequent episodes.