Shloka 53

Devanagari script

ग्रीवा चास्याभवद्‌ राजन्‌ कालरात्रिर्गुणोत्तरा एतद्धयशिर: कृत्वा नानामूर्तिभिरावृतम्‌

Transliteration

grīvā cāsyābhavad rājan kālarātrir guṇottarā | etad dhayaśiraḥ kṛtvā nānāmūrtibhir āvṛtam ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O King, his neck became Kālarātri, surpassing all in dreadful power. Having made this its head, it stood enveloped in many forms.”

Word by Word

• ग्रीवा: neck
• ग्रीवा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रीवा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• अस्य: of him/its
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• अभवत्: became/was
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कालरात्रिः: Kālarātri (Night of Time; a fierce goddess)
• कालरात्रिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालरात्रि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• गुणोत्तरा: excellent/superior in qualities
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुणोत्तरा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• हयशिरः: horse-head
• हयशिरः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: हयशिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कृत्वा: having made
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Active

• नाना: various
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाना

• मूर्तिभिः: with forms
• मूर्तिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्ति
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• आवृतम्: covered/enveloped
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√वृ (वृञ्/वृ)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• rājan (the king, i.e., Janamejaya in frame narrative)
• Kālarātri

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses terrifying, cosmic imagery to underscore the supremacy of Time and destruction (Kālarātri) as forces that overtake embodied forms; it cautions against pride in power and points toward humility and dharmic restraint in the face of inevitable dissolution.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a being (or manifestation) undergoing a fearsome transformation: its neck becomes Kālarātri, and with a horse-like head it appears shrouded in multiple forms, emphasizing a dreadful, many-shaped apparition.