Shloka 16
Karṇa’s Counsel on Śrī
Fortune) and the Proposed Display before the Exiled Pāṇḍavas (कर्णवचनम् / श्रीप्रदर्शन-प्रस्तावः
तस्मिन् कुण्डे प्रतिपदि कामिन्या स्वाहया तदा । तत् स्कन्न॑ तेजसा तत्र संवृतं जनयत् सुतम्,अग्निदेवकी कामना रखनेवाली स्वाहाने प्रतिपदाको उस कुण्डमें उनका वीर्य डाला था। स्कन्दित (स्खलित) हुए उस वीर्यने वहाँ एक तेजस्वी पुत्रको जन्म दिया। ऋषियोंने उसका बड़ा सम्मान किया। वह स्कन्दित होनेके कारण स्कन्द कहलाया। उसके छ: सिर, बारह कान, बारह नेत्र और बारह भुजाएँ थीं
tasmin kuṇḍe pratipadi kāminyā svāhayā tadā | tat skannaṃ tejasā tatra saṃvṛtaṃ janayat sutam ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “In that sacred fire-pit, on the day of Pratipadā, Svāhā—moved by desire—deposited the seed. That spilled seed, enveloped and ripened there by its own fiery radiance, brought forth a son.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how actions driven by desire (kāma) still unfold under the law of consequence, and how tejas (inner fire/energy) can transform circumstances into a potent outcome. It suggests an ethical nuance: origins may be mixed, yet the resulting being can be honored for the power and role that emerge.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates that Svāhā, on Pratipadā, placed the spilled seed into a sacrificial fire-pit (kuṇḍa). Enclosed and energized by tejas, it generated a son—understood in the broader episode as Skanda’s birth.