Shloka 87

Śārṅgakānāṃ Avināśaḥ (Why the Śārṅga Birds Were Spared) | शार्ङ्गकानामविनाशः

Devanagari script

जातकर्माण्यानुपूर्व्याच्चूडोपनयनानि च । चकार विधिवद्‌ धौम्यस्तेषां भरतसत्तम,भरतश्रेष्ठ! पुरोहित धौम्यने क्रमश: उन सभी बालकोंके जातकर्म, चूड़ाकरण और उपनयन आदि संस्कार विधिपूर्वक सम्पन्न किये

Transliteration

jātakarmāṇy anupūrvyāc cūḍopanayanāni ca | cakāra vidhivad dhaumyas teṣāṃ bharatasattama ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Then, in due sequence, Dhaumya—the family priest—performed for those boys, in accordance with prescribed rites, the sacraments beginning with the birth-ritual (jātakarma) and including the tonsure (cūḍākaraṇa) and the initiation with the sacred thread (upanayana), O best of the Bharatas.

Word by Word

• जातकर्माणि: birth-rites (jātakarma ceremonies)
• जातकर्माणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: जातकर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• अनुपूर्व्यात्: in due order / sequentially (lit. from sequence)
• अनुपूर्व्यात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुपूर्वी
• Form: Feminine, Ablative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• चूडोपनयनानि: tonsure and initiation (cūḍā and upanayana rites)
• चूडोपनयनानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चूडोपनयन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• चकार: performed / did
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• विधिवत्: according to rule; duly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधिवत्

• धौम्यः: Dhaumya (the priest)
• धौम्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धौम्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तेषाम्: of them (of those boys)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• भरतसत्तम: O best of the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरतसत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dhaumya
• Bharatas (dynasty)
• the boys (princes/children referred to in context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharma through disciplined formation: even powerful royal children are shaped by properly ordered saṃskāras performed vidhivat by an authorized purohita/ācārya, emphasizing legitimacy, restraint, and continuity of sacred tradition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that Dhaumya, serving as family priest, carried out the boys’ life-cycle rites—jātakarma, cūḍākaraṇa, and upanayana—in correct sequence and according to ritual rules, marking their formal entry into social-religious duties and Vedic study.