Shloka 86
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
कश्यप उवाच कुलं कुलं च कुवम: कुवम: कश्यपो द्विज: । काश्य: काशनिकाशत्वादेतन्मे नाम धारय
kaśyapa uvāca | kulaṃ kulaṃ ca ku-vamaḥ ku-vamaḥ kaśyapo dvijaḥ | kāśyaḥ kāśanikāśatvād etan me nāma dhāraya ||
Kashyapa berkata: “Wahai Yātudhānī! ‘Kaśya’ adalah sebutan bagi tubuh; ia yang memeliharanya disebut ‘Kaśyapa’. Aku memasuki setiap ‘kula’—yakni setiap tubuh dan garis penjelmaan—sebagai penjaga yang bersemayam di dalam, lalu melindunginya; karena itu aku Kaśyapa. Dan karena aku juga berhakikat matahari yang menurunkan hujan ke bumi, aku dikenal pula sebagai Ku-vama. Karena sinar tubuhku terang laksana bunga kāśa, aku masyhur juga dengan nama ‘Kāśya’. Inilah namaku—terimalah dan sandanglah.”
कश्यप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a name can encode dharmic function: Kashyapa defines himself through protective indwelling presence (as an inner guardian of embodied beings) and through cosmic beneficence (sun and rain sustaining life). Identity is framed as service—sustaining, protecting, and nourishing.
Kashyapa is explaining the meanings and grounds of his epithets—Kaśyapa, Ku-vama, and Kāśya—using etymological and symbolic reasoning, and instructs the addressed listener to adopt/retain that name (or understanding of the name) as significant.