Shloka 38
पाण्डवानां पाञ्चालगमनम्
The Pāṇḍavas’ Journey toward Pāñcāla and News of the Svayaṃvara
चिबुकांश्व पुलिन्दांश्व चीनान् हूणान् सकेरलान् | ससर्ज फेनत: सा गौम्लेच्छान् बहुविधानपि,इसी प्रकार उस गौने फेनसे चिबुक, पुलिन्द, चीन, हूण, केरल आदि बहुत प्रकारके म्लेच्छोंकी सृष्टि की
cibukāṁś ca puliṇḍāṁś ca cīnān hūṇān sakeralān | sasarja phenataḥ sā gauḥ mlecchān bahuvidhān api ||
The Gandharva said: “From her foam that cow brought forth many kinds of mlecchas—such as the Cibukas, Pulindas, Cīnas, Hūṇas, and those of Kerala.”
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions mainly as an etiological (origin-explaining) statement: it attributes the emergence of various peoples to a miraculous source, reflecting the epic’s attempt to map the human world into named communities. Ethically, it should be read as descriptive myth-making within its historical-cultural lens, not as a directive for how to treat others.
A Gandharva narrates that a wondrous cow produced multiple groups of mlecchas from her foam, listing several ethnonyms (Cibuka, Pulinda, Cīna, Hūṇa, Kerala). The line is part of a broader account describing the generation or appearance of different peoples.