Shloka 13

Suvarṇa-dāna: Kārttikeya’s Origin and the Defeat of Tāraka (सुवर्णदान-प्रसङ्गे कार्त्तिकेय-उत्पत्ति तथा तारकवधः)

Devanagari script

देवानां भगवन्‌ कस्माल्लोकेशानां पितामह । उपरिष्टाद्‌ गवां लोक एतदिच्छामि वेदितुम्‌

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | devānāṃ bhagavan kasmāl lokeśānāṃ pitāmaha | upariṣṭād gavāṃ loka etad icchāmi veditum ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “O Blessed Lord, O Grandfather of the worlds and of the gods—why is the world (realm) of cows placed above (others)? This is what I wish to understand.”

Word by Word

• देवानाम्: of the gods
• देवानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• भगवन्: O venerable one / O Lord
• भगवन्: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कस्मात्: from what cause? / why?
• कस्मात्: Apadana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• लोकेशानाम्: of the lords of the worlds
• लोकेशानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोकेश
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• पितामह: O grandsire (Pitāmaha)
• पितामह: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• उपरिष्टात्: above / on high
• उपरिष्टात्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उपरिष्टात्

• गवाम्: of cows
• गवाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• लोकः: the world/realm
• लोकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इच्छामि: I wish/desire
• इच्छामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्
• Form: Present, First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• वेदितुम्: to know
• वेदितुम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद्
• Form: Infinitive (Tumun)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Devas
• Gavām loka (realm/world of cows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical-cosmological inquiry: Bhīṣma seeks the reason cows are accorded a superior realm, implying that moral order (dharma) recognizes certain beings as especially worthy of protection and reverence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses Pitāmaha (Brahmā) with a respectful question, asking why the ‘world of cows’ is situated above other realms, signaling a forthcoming explanation about the religious and moral significance of cows.