Shloka 12

Ruru–Pramadvarā: Lineage, Fosterage, Betrothal, and the Snakebite Crisis (Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 8)

Devanagari script

जातकाद्या: क्रियाश्चास्या विधिपूर्व यथाक्रमम्‌ । स्थूलकेशो महाभागश्नचकार सुमहानृषि:,महाभाग महर्षि स्थूलकेशने क्रमशः: उस बालिकाके जात-कर्मादि सब संस्कार विधिपूर्वक सम्पन्न किये

Transliteration

jātakādyāḥ kriyāś cāsyā vidhipūrvaṃ yathākramam | sthūlakeśo mahābhāgaś cakāra sumahān ṛṣiḥ ||

Translation

Śaunaka said: The great and illustrious sage Sthūlakeśa duly performed, in proper order and according to prescribed rites, all the sacraments (saṃskāras) for that girl—beginning with the birth-rite.

Word by Word

जातकाद्याःthe birth-rites etc.

क्रियाःrites, ceremonies

चand

अस्याःof her

विधि-पूर्वम्according to rule; duly

यथा-क्रमम्in due order; successively

स्थूलकेशःSthūlakeśa (the sage named ‘Thick-haired’)

महाभागःvery fortunate; illustrious

चकारdid; performed

सुमहान्very great

ऋषिःsage

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

श

शौनक (Śaunaka)

स

स्थूलकेश (Sthūlakeśa)

ब

बालिका (the girl/child, implied by asyāḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That dharma is upheld through disciplined, scripture-guided conduct: even personal and familial duties—like caring for a newborn—should be performed properly, in the right sequence, and with reverence for established rites.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka reports that the sage Sthūlakeśa performed all the child’s prescribed rites, starting with the birth-ceremony, completing them correctly and in order—signaling the child’s formal acceptance and protection within dharmic society.