Shanti Parva Adhyaya 336 Shloka 11 - Mahabharata | Indonesian | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 11

एकान्तिधर्म-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into Ekāntin Dharma) / The Origin and Practice of Single-Pointed Nārāyaṇa-Centered Discipline

Devanagari script

छत्राकृतिशीर्षा मेघौघनिनादा: सममुष्कचतुष्का राजीवच्छतपादा: । षष्ट्या दन्तैर्युक्ता: शुक्लैरष्टाभिद्रष्टाभियें जिद्दाभियें विश्ववक्‍षत्रं लेलिहान्ते सूर्यप्रर्यम्‌

Transliteration

chatrākṛtiśīrṣā meghaughaninādāḥ samamuṣkacatuṣkā rājīvachchatapādāḥ | ṣaṣṭyā dantairyuktāḥ śuklairaṣṭābhirdrāṣṭābhirjiddhābhirye viśvavakṣatraṃ lelihānte sūryaprarayam ||

Translation

Kepala mereka berbentuk seperti payung kebesaran; suara mereka dalam laksana gemuruh gumpalan awan pekat. Mereka memiliki empat lengan yang seimbang, dan telapak kaki mereka dihiasi ratusan tanda menyerupai teratai. Di mulut mereka ada enam puluh gigi putih dan delapan geraham. Bercahaya seperti matahari, mereka sanggup menampung seluruh jagat di dalam mulutnya; dengan lidah mereka bahkan menjilat habis Mahākāla sendiri.

Word by Word

छत्राकृतिशीर्षाःhaving heads shaped like umbrellas

मेघौघनिनादाःhaving a roar like a mass of clouds

सममुष्कचतुष्काःhaving four equal arms

राजीवच्छतपादाःhaving feet marked with hundreds of lotus-like lines

षष्ट्याwith sixty

दन्तैःwith teeth

युक्ताःendowed (with)

शुक्लैःwhite

अष्टाभिःwith eight

द्रष्टाभिःwith molars (lit. 'lookers'; here understood as दाढा/दाढा-दन्ताः)

येwho

जिह्वाभिःwith tongues

विश्ववक्षत्रम्the all-containing (one) / the universe-holder (epithet)

लेलिहन्तेthey lick

सूर्यप्रभम्sun-bright, radiant like the sun

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

dvīpa (island/region)

Mahākāla

Sūrya (Sun)

vajra (thunderbolt)

chhatra (parasol)

megha (clouds)

rājīva (lotus)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage praises inner purity and yogic discipline: those free from pāpa possess divine strength and, ethically, remain equal-minded toward honor and dishonor (samatva), suggesting that true power is grounded in dharma and detachment rather than social validation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is describing a wondrous island inhabited by extraordinary, sinless beings. Their superhuman features—four arms, thunderous voice, vajra-like bodies, sun-like radiance, and the hyperbolic image of licking even Mahākāla—serve to magnify their spiritual potency and otherworldly status.