Shloka 46

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

Devanagari script

आरुषी तु मनो: कन्या तस्य पत्नी मनीषिण: । और्वस्तस्यथां समभवदूरं भित्त्वा महायशा:,मनुकी पुत्री आरुषी मनीषी च्यवन मुनिकी पत्नी थी। उससे महायशस्वी और्व मुनिका जन्म हुआ। वे अपनी माताकी ऊरु (जाँघ) फाड़कर प्रकट हुए थे; इसलिये और्व कहलाये

Transliteration

Āruṣī tu Manoḥ kanyā tasya patnī manīṣiṇaḥ | Aurvas tasyātha samabhavad ūruṁ bhittvā mahāyaśāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Āruṣī, die Tochter Manus, wurde die Gattin jenes weisen Sehers. Aus ihr wurde der hochberühmte Aurva geboren, der hervortrat, indem er den Schenkel seiner Mutter spaltete; darum wurde er Aurva genannt. Die Stelle hebt die außergewöhnlichen, vom Göttlichen durchdrungenen Geburten der Seher hervor und zeigt, wie ein Name das moralische Gedächtnis eines Ereignisses bewahren kann.

Word by Word

आरुषीArushi

तुbut/indeed

मनोःof Manu

कन्याdaughter

तस्यof him/of that (sage)

पत्नीwife

मनीषिणःof the wise one (sage)

और्वःAurva

तस्यof her/of him

अथthen/and

समभवत्was born/arose

ऊरुम्thigh

भित्त्वाhaving split

महायशाःgreatly renowned

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Āruṣī

Manu

Aurva (sage)

the wise sage (manīṣin; husband of Āruṣī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how extraordinary births of ṛṣis are remembered through naming and narration, reinforcing the cultural idea that a name can encode an origin-story and preserve moral-historical memory within a lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana identifies Āruṣī as Manu’s daughter and the wife of a wise sage, then states that the famed sage Aurva was born from her by splitting her thigh, which explains his name (Aurva connected with ūru, ‘thigh’).