Shloka 116

Karṇa’s Counsel on Śrī

Fortune) and the Proposed Display before the Exiled Pāṇḍavas (कर्णवचनम् / श्रीप्रदर्शन-प्रस्तावः

Devanagari script

राक्षसीभिश्न सम्पूर्णमनेकैश्न मृगद्धिजै: । सात सिरोंवाले अद्भुत नाग, जिनकी दृष्टिमें ही विष भरा था, उस पर्वतकी रक्षा करते थे। इनके सिवा राक्षस, पिशाच, भयानक भूतगण, राक्षसी-समुदाय तथा अनेक पशु- पक्षियोंसे भी वह पर्वत भरा हुआ था

Transliteration

rākṣasībhiś ca saṃpūrṇam anekaiś ca mṛgadvijaiḥ | saptaśīrṣā adbhutā nāgā yeṣāṃ dṛṣṭau viṣaṃ sthitam | taṃ parvataṃ rakṣayanti sma | eteṣāṃ ca vinā rākṣasāḥ piśācā bhīṣaṇā bhūtaganā rākṣasī-samūhaś ca nānā-paśu-pakṣiṇaś ca tena parvataḥ paripūrṇaḥ ||

Translation

Dijo Mārkaṇḍeya: Aquel monte estaba atestado de rākṣasīs y de muchas clases de bestias y aves. Serpientes prodigiosas de siete cabezas—cuya sola mirada iba cargada de veneno—montaban guardia en torno a la montaña. Además de ellas, rebosaba de rākṣasas, piśācas, aterradoras huestes de espíritus, bandas de rākṣasīs y toda suerte de animales y pájaros. La escena muestra cómo el peligro puede estar tejido en el propio paisaje y advierte que lo desconocido debe abordarse con contención, vigilancia y discernimiento, no con temeridad.

Word by Word

• राक्षसीभिः: by/with demonesses (rākṣasīs)
• राक्षसीभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षसी
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• सम्पूर्णम्: completely filled
• सम्पूर्णम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्पूर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• अनेकैः: by many
• अनेकैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनेक
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• मृगद्विजैः: by beasts and birds
• मृगद्विजैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृगद्विज
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• मार्कण्डेय (Mārkaṇḍeya)
• पर्वत (mountain)
• राक्षसी (rākṣasīs)
• राक्षस (rākṣasas)
• पिशाच (piśācas)
• भूतगण (hosts of spirits)
• नाग (seven-headed nāgas/serpents)
• मृग (beasts)
• द्विज (birds)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights that danger may be embedded in one’s surroundings and guarded by formidable forces; ethically, it encourages self-control, careful judgment, and preparedness when approaching unknown or forbidden spaces.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya describes a mountain densely inhabited by rākṣasīs and other fearsome beings, and guarded by wondrous seven-headed nāgas whose gaze itself is poisonous, emphasizing the mountain’s extreme peril.