Shloka 87

Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission

Devanagari script

आशीविषाश्षीरधरा गोनासावदनास्तथा । स्थूलोदरा: कृशाज्श्च स्थूलाड्राश्न कृुशोदरा:

Transliteration

āśīviṣāḥ śīradharā gonāsā-vadanās tathā | sthūlodarāḥ kṛśāś ca sthūlā dīrghāś ca kṛśodarāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Da waren giftige Schlangen mit aufgerichteter Haube und andere mit Gesichtern wie die des Gonāsa (eine Art Viper). Einige waren dickbäuchig, andere mager; einige gewaltig und lang, andere hingegen schlankbäuchig.“

Word by Word

आशीविषाःvenomous serpents (āśīviṣa-snakes)

क्षीरधराःmilk-bearing (snakes/creatures)

गोनासाःgōnāsa-snakes (a kind of serpent)

वदनाःfaces/mouthed ones

तथाalso/likewise

स्थूलोदराःbig-bellied

कृशाःlean/thin

चand

स्थूलाङ्गाःthick-limbed/large-bodied

चand

कृशोदराःthin-bellied

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

serpents (āśīviṣa)

gonāsa (a type of snake)

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 does not state a direct moral injunction; its ethical force is indirect. By invoking many terrifying kinds of serpents, it intensifies the atmosphere of peril and suggests how violence and hostility breed an environment where danger multiplies in countless forms.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the presence/appearance of numerous varieties of poisonous snakes—hooded, viper-faced, large, long, or lean—using vivid cataloguing to convey dread and the ominous tone surrounding events in the Shalya Parva.