Shloka 38

Devanagari script

घटो हास्योत्कच इति माता त॑ प्रत्यभाषत । अब्रवीत्‌ तेन नामास्य घटोत्कच इति सम ह,बालककी माताने भीमसेनसे कहा--“इसका घट (सिर) उत्कच- अर्थात्‌ केशरहित है।' उसके इस कथनसे ही उसका नाम घटोत्कच हो गया

Transliteration

ghaṭo hāsyotkaca iti mātā taṁ pratyabhāṣata | abravīt tena nāmāsya ghaṭotkaca iti sama ha |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Sa mère s’adressa à l’enfant en disant : « Celui-ci est “Ghaṭa” et “Ut-kaca” — sa tête est comme un pot, et ses cheveux sont rasés (ou absents). » De cette seule parole, son nom fut établi : Ghaṭotkaca.

Word by Word

घटःGhaṭa (as a name/‘pot’; here ‘head’ by sense)

हास्यःlaughable, amusing

उत्कचःbald, hairless

इतिthus, ‘as’ (quotative)

माताmother

तम्him

प्रत्यभाषतanswered, spoke in reply

अब्रवीत्said

तेनby that, thereby

नामname

अस्यof him

घटोत्कचःGhaṭotkaca (proper name)

इतिthus (quotative)

सम्indeed, altogether (particle)

अहindeed (emphatic particle)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Ghaṭotkaca

Ghaṭotkaca's mother (Hiḍimbā, implied)

Bhīmasena (from the accompanying Hindi gloss)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Words can crystallize identity: a single descriptive utterance may become a lasting name and social memory, reminding readers to speak thoughtfully and recognize how labels shape perception.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator explains how the child received the name Ghaṭotkaca: his mother jokingly described him as ‘pot-headed’ and ‘shorn/hairless,’ and that description became his established name.