Shloka 306

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

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

Devanagari script

कार्तिकेयानुयायिन्यो नानारूपा: सहस्रशः । भरतश्रेष्ठ! ये तथा और भी नाना रूपधारिणी बहुत-सी सहस्रों मातृकाएँ हैं, जो कुमार कार्तिकेयका अनुसरण करती हैं

Transliteration

kārtikeyānuyāyinyaḥ nānārūpāḥ sahasraśaḥ | bharataśreṣṭha! ye tathā anyā api nānā-rūpadhāriṇī bahvyaḥ sahasraśo mātṛkāḥ santi, yāḥ kumāra-kārtikeyasya anuyānam kurvanti |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Bester der Bhāratas, es gibt tausend und abertausend Gefolgsleute Kārttikeyas, die mannigfache Gestalten annehmen. Ebenso folgen und begleiten unzählige Mātṛkās—die Muttergöttinnen—, in vielfältigen Erscheinungen, den jugendlichen Gott Kārttikeya.“

Word by Word

कार्तिकेयof Kārtikeya

अनुयायिन्यःfollowers (female)

नानाvarious, many kinds of

रूपाःforms

सहस्रशःby thousands, in thousands

भरतO Bharata

श्रेष्ठbest, foremost

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kārttikeya (Skanda/Kumāra)

Bharataśreṣṭha (address to Janamejaya)

Mātṛkās

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage underscores the vastness and diversity of divine forces that gather around a righteous or powerful leader: Kārttikeya is portrayed as supported by innumerable, multiform energies (Mātṛkās and attendants), suggesting that protection and victory are not merely individual but arise from aligned, many-sided powers.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the entourage of Kārttikeya: thousands of female followers of varied forms, and additionally innumerable Mātṛkā mother-deities who accompany and follow Kumāra Kārttikeya, emphasizing the scale and awe of the divine assembly.