Shloka 16

कार्त्तिकेयाभिषेकः — Consecration of Kārttikeya and the Enumeration of His Retinue

Devanagari script

कुमार: सुमहावीर्य: कार्तिकेय इति स्मृतः । गाड़ेय: पूर्वम भवन्महायोगबलान्वित:,वह महान्‌ शक्तिशाली कुमार कार्तिकेयके नामसे विख्यात हुआ। वह महान्‌ योगबलसे सम्पन्न बालक पहले गंगाजीका पुत्र था

Transliteration

kumāraḥ sumahāvīryaḥ kārtikeya iti smṛtaḥ | gāṅgeyaḥ pūrvam abhavan mahāyogabalānvitaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sagte: „Jener Jüngling von überragender Tapferkeit wird unter dem Namen Kārtikeya in Erinnerung gehalten. Ausgestattet mit der Kraft großer yogischer Askese, war er zuvor als Gāṅgeya bekannt—der Sohn des Flusses Gaṅgā.“

Word by Word

कुमारःthe boy/prince (Kumara)

सुमहावीर्यःof very great valor

कार्तिकेयःKārtikeya

इतिthus

स्मृतःis called/remembered

गाङ्गेयःthe son of Gaṅgā (Gāṅgeya)

पूर्वम्formerly/earlier

अभवत्was/became

महायोगबलान्वितःendowed with great yogic power

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kumāra (Skanda)

Kārtikeya

Gaṅgā

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores that true martial potency is not merely physical but can be grounded in inner spiritual power (yogabala), and that a figure’s identity is preserved and transmitted through remembered names and lineages.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana identifies the mighty divine youth as Kārtikeya and notes his earlier designation as Gāṅgeya, emphasizing his connection to the river Gaṅgā and his extraordinary yogic strength.