Shloka 101

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site

Devanagari script

उन महाबली योगेश्वर स्कन्ददेवको लोग एक, दो, चार, सौ तथा सहस्ौरों रूपोंमें देखते और जानते हैं ।।

Transliteration

un mahābalī yogeśvara skandadevaṃ loka ekam, dve, catvāri, śatāni tathā sahasrāṇi rūpāṇi paśyanti jānanti ca || etat te kathitaṃ rājan kārtikeyābhiṣecanam | śṛṇu caiva sarasvatyās tīrthavaryasya puṇyatām ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: People behold and recognize the mighty Skanda, the Lord of yoga, in one form, in two, in four, in hundreds, and even in thousands of manifestations. O King, I have thus related to you the account of Kārtikeya’s consecration. Now listen further as I describe the sanctity of the most excellent sacred ford of the river Sarasvatī.

Word by Word

• {'mahābalī': 'very mighty, of great strength', 'yogeśvara': 'lord/master of yogic power

• a supreme divine adept', 'skandadeva': 'Skanda, the god (also Kārtikeya)', 'lokaḥ': 'people

• the world (here: people in the world)', 'rūpa': 'form, manifestation, appearance', 'ekam / dve / catvāri': 'one / two / four', 'śatāni': 'hundreds', 'sahasrāṇi': 'thousands', 'paśyanti': 'they see, behold', 'jānanti': 'they know, recognize, understand', 'etat': 'this (account)', 'te': 'to you', 'kathitam': 'told, narrated', 'rājan': 'O king', 'kārtikeyābhiṣecanam': 'the consecration/anointing (abhiṣeka) of Kārtikeya', 'śṛṇu': 'listen', 'caiva': 'and indeed

• also', 'sarasvatyāḥ': 'of Sarasvatī (the river/goddess)', 'tīrthavaryasya': 'of the best/excellent tīrtha (sacred ford/pilgrimage site)', 'puṇyatām': 'holiness, sanctity, merit-conferring nature'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Skanda
• Kārtikeya
• Sarasvatī
• tīrtha (sacred ford/pilgrimage site)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes two linked ideas: the deity’s capacity to be perceived in many manifestations, and the ethical-religious turn from wonder to practice—listening about a tīrtha’s sanctity encourages reverence, self-purification, and merit through remembrance and pilgrimage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana concludes the episode about Kārtikeya/Skanda’s consecration and signals a transition to the next topic: the holiness of a foremost Sarasvatī tīrtha, continuing the king-directed instruction through sacred history and place.