Shloka 12

Sagara’s Aśvamedha Horse Lost; The Sixty-Thousand Sons Begin the Subterranean Search

Kapila Introduced

Devanagari script

हतशेषास्तत: केचित्‌ कालेया मनुजोत्तम । विदार्य वसुधां देवीं पातालतलमास्थिता:,नरश्रेष्ठ! मरनेसे बचे हुए कुछ कालेय दैत्य वसुन्धरा देवीको विदीर्ण करके पातालमें चले गये

Transliteration

hataśeṣās tataḥ kecit kāleyā manuṣottama | vidārya vasudhāṃ devīṃ pātālatalam āsthitāḥ ||

Translation

O Bester der Menschen, einige der Kāleya-Dämonen, die das Gemetzel überlebt hatten, rissen die göttliche Erde auf und suchten Zuflucht in Pātāla, der Unterwelt.

Word by Word

हतशेषाःthose remaining after being slain (survivors)

ततःthen, thereafter

केचित्some

कालेयाःthe Kāleyas (a class of demons)

मनुज-उत्तमO best of men

विदार्यhaving torn asunder

वसुधाम्the earth

देवीम्the goddess (as Earth)

पाताल-तलम्the floor/region of Pātāla (netherworld)

आस्थिताःwent to / resorted to / took refuge in

नर-श्रेष्ठO best of men

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kāleya (demons)

Vasudhā (Earth goddess)

Pātāla (netherworld)

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?

Even when wrongdoing is defeated, its remnants may evade immediate accountability by hiding or withdrawing; dharma requires vigilance because unresolved adharma can re-emerge from concealment.

What is happening in the narrative?

After many Kāleya demons are killed, a surviving group escapes by splitting the Earth and descending into Pātāla, taking shelter in the nether regions.