Shloka 30

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site

Devanagari script

एताक्षान्याक्ष बहवो मातरो भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

etākṣāny ākṣa bahavo mātaro bharatarṣabha

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Stier unter den Bhāratas, so sind viele Mütter ihrer Söhne beraubt worden.“

Word by Word

• एताः: these
• एताः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun/Adjective
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• अक्षान्: dice
• अक्षान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• याक्ष: ask for / request
• याक्ष: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: याच्
• Form: Imperative, 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• बहवः: many
• बहवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मातरः: mothers
• मातरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• भरतर्षभ: O bull of the Bharatas (best of the Bharatas)
• भरतर्षभ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun (vocative epithet)
• Root: भरत-ऋषभ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Bharatarṣabha (Janamejaya, as addressee)
• mothers (bereaved women)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when war is pursued under the banner of duty, its human cost is profound: countless families—especially mothers—are left in grief. The verse underscores the ethical weight of violence and the need to remember its consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues narrating the aftermath and toll of the Kurukṣetra conflict, addressing the listener as ‘Bharatarṣabha’ and emphasizing that many mothers have been left childless due to the ongoing devastation.