Shloka 56
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
Devanagari script
शड्कुकर्णो निकुम्भश्न पद्म: कुमुद एव च
Transliteration
śaḍkukarṇo nikumbhaś ca padmaḥ kumuda eva ca
Translation
Vaiśampāyana said: “(There were) Śaḍkukarṇa, Nikumbha, Padma, and also Kumuda.”
Word by Word
शड्कुकर्णःŚaḍkukarṇa (a proper name; lit. 'one having spike-like ears')
शड्कुकर्णः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootशड्कुकर्ण
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
निकुम्भःNikumbha (proper name)
निकुम्भः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootनिकुम्भ
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
पद्मःPadma (proper name; lit. 'lotus')
पद्मः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootपद्म
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
कुमुदःKumuda (proper name; lit. 'water-lily')
कुमुदः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootकुमुद
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
एवindeed/also/just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
Speaker
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Characters & Entities
V
VaiśampāyanaŚ
ŚaḍkukarṇaN
NikumbhaP
PadmaK
KumudaCharacter Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Even in war, the epic preserves moral attention to persons by naming them; remembrance and accountability are part of dharma, preventing violence from becoming faceless.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana enumerates specific named figures—Śaḍkukarṇa, Nikumbha, Padma, and Kumuda—as part of a larger listing of participants in the Shalya Parva war events.