Shloka 19

Kapālamocana-tīrtha (Auśanasa) and Balarāma’s Sarasvatī Pilgrimage

Devanagari script

नैमिषे काउ्चनाक्षी तु मुनीनां सत्रयाजिनाम्‌

Transliteration

naimiṣe kāñcanākṣī tu munīnāṃ satrayājinām

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: In Naimiṣa befand sich Kāñcanākṣī—anwesend unter den Munis, die eine Opfer-Sitzung (satra) vollzogen—und so wird die Erzählung in den geheiligten Rahmen eines langen vedischen Ritus gestellt, in dem disziplinierte Erkundung und das Gedenken an das Dharma bewahrt werden.

Word by Word

• नैमिषे: in Naimiṣa (forest/sacred place)
• नैमिषे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैमिष (नैमिषम्)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• काचित्: some (a certain)
• काचित्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: क (किम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• चनाक्षी: Chanākṣī (a woman named Chanākṣī)
• चनाक्षी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चनाक्षी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• मुनीनाम्: of sages
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• सत्रयाजिनाम्: of (those) performing a satra-sacrifice
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्रयाजिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Naimiṣa (Naimiṣāraṇya)
• Kāñcanākṣī
• Munis (sages)
• Satra (sacrificial session)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the authority of dharma-discourse as preserved and transmitted in sanctified settings: the satra of sages at Naimiṣa symbolizes disciplined listening, collective memory, and ethical reflection grounded in Vedic ritual order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana locates the account at Naimiṣa, among sages conducting a long sacrificial session, and introduces/mentions Kāñcanākṣī in that assembly—marking the ritual frame within which the story is being recounted.