Shloka 22

Daitya–Dānava Vaṁśa, Kaśyapa’s Progeny, and the Birth of the Maruts

Devanagari script

एलापुत्रस् तथा नागः कर्कोटकधनंजयौ एते चान्ये च बहवो दन्दशूका विषोल्बणाः

Transliteration

elāputras tathā nāgaḥ karkoṭakadhanaṃjayau ete cānye ca bahavo dandaśūkā viṣolbaṇāḥ

Translation

So too are Elāputra and Nāga, and Karkoṭaka and Dhanaṃjaya—these and many others besides are fierce, biting serpents, dreadful in their venom.

Word by Word

• एलापुत्रः: Elāputra (name)
• एलापुत्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एलापुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (एलायाः पुत्रः)

• तथा: also, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/सादृश्यार्थक (also/likewise)

• नागः: Nāga (serpent)
• नागः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• कर्कोटकधनंजयौ: Karkoṭaka and Dhanaṃjaya
• कर्कोटकधनंजयौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्कोटक + धनंजय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (कर्कोटकश्च धनंजयश्च)

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• बहवः: many
• बहवः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• दन्दशूकाः: serpents
• दन्दशूकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दन्दशूक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• विषोल्बणाः: highly venomous
• विषोल्बणाः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष + उल्बण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (विषेण उल्बणाः/विष-उल्बणाः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Secondary creation: enumeration of Kaśyapa’s progeny and species-classes

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Characters & Entities

• Elāputra
• Nāga
• Karkoṭaka
• Dhanaṃjaya
• Nāgas (serpent beings)

FAQs

What is the significance of listing Nāgas in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse is part of a cosmic catalogue that situates nāgas within the ordered universe—showing that even fearsome, venomous beings exist within a divinely governed structure ultimately under Vishnu’s sovereignty.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the world’s hidden or subterranean beings?

In the Book 2 cosmological sections, Parāśara enumerates classes and lineages of beings (including nāgas) as components of the world-system, presenting them not as random monsters but as named, countable inhabitants of specific realms.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇa’s cosmology presupposes Vishnu as the supreme regulator: the diversity of beings—gentle or dangerous—fits within a coherent creation sustained by the Supreme Reality.