Shloka 53

Devanagari script

लीलाढ्यो नारदश्वैव तथा कूर्चामुख: स्मृत: । वादुलिमुसलश्नैव वक्षोग्रीवस्तथैव च

Transliteration

līlāḍhyo nāradaś caiva tathā kūrcāmukhaḥ smṛtaḥ | vādulimusalas caiva vakṣogrīvas tathaiva ca ||

Translation

Bhīṣma bersabda: “Juga dikenang nama Līlāḍhya dan Nārada, demikian pula Kūrcāmukha; serta Vāduli-musala, dan Vakṣogrīva.”

Word by Word

लीलाढ्यःabounding in play/sportive

नारदःNārada

चand

एवindeed/also

तथाthus/likewise

कूर्चामुखःKūrcāmukha (a name/epithet)

स्मृतःis remembered/said to be called

वादुलिमुसलःVāduli and Musala (as a pair/name)

चand

एवindeed/also

वक्षोग्रीवःVaksogrīva (a name/epithet)

तथाlikewise

एवalso/indeed

चand

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Līlāḍhya

Nārada

Kūrcāmukha

Vāduli-musala

Vakṣogrīva

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models the dharmic importance of preserving and accurately reciting inherited tradition—names, lineages, and remembered figures—since such remembrance supports continuity of ethical and sacred knowledge.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is continuing a formal enumeration of named beings/persons. The verse is part of a larger catalog, where each name is recorded as ‘remembered’ (smṛtaḥ), indicating reliance on established tradition.