Shloka 16

Śakuntalā-Janma-Nāmakaraṇa (Birth and Naming of Śakuntalā) | शकुन्तला-जन्म-नामकरणम्

Devanagari script

सप्तविंशति: सोमस्य पत्न्यो लोकस्य विश्रुता: । कालस्य नयने युक्ता: सोमपत्न्य: शुचिव्रता:,चन्द्रमाकी सत्ताईस स्त्रियाँ समस्त लोकोंमें विख्यात हैं। वे पवित्र व्रत धारण करनेवाली सोमपत्नियाँ काल-विभागका ज्ञापन करनेमें नियुक्त हैं

Transliteration

saptaviṁśatiḥ somasya patnyo lokasya viśrutāḥ | kālasya nayane yuktāḥ somapatnyaḥ śucivratāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Die siebenundzwanzig Gemahlinnen Somas, des Mondes, sind in der ganzen Welt berühmt. In reinen Gelübden lebend, sind diese Mond-Gefährtinnen dazu bestimmt, die Einteilungen und Maße der Zeit zu kennzeichnen und kundzutun.

Word by Word

सप्तविंशतिःthe number twenty-seven

सोमस्यof Soma (the Moon)

पत्नीःwives

लोकस्यof the world

विश्रुताःwell-known, renowned

कालस्यof time

नयनेin the two eyes

युक्ताःappointed, engaged, joined

सोमपत्नीःSoma's wives

शुचिव्रताःof pure vows, observing pure vows

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Soma (Candra, the Moon)

the twenty-seven wives of Soma (Nakṣatras)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links cosmic order to ethical discipline: the Moon’s consorts, described as śucivratāḥ (pure in vow), uphold the regularity by which time is known. It suggests that purity and steadfast observance sustain the intelligibility and rhythm of the world.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a cosmological detail: Soma (the Moon) has twenty-seven renowned consorts—identified with the lunar mansions (nakṣatras)—who are tasked with indicating the divisions of time, reflecting how the Moon’s passage measures days and months.