Shloka 1
Amṛta-Pāna, Rāhu’s Detection, and the Sudarśana Intervention (अमृतपान-राहुप्रकाशन-सुदर्शनप्रयोगः)
उग्रश्रवाजी कहते हैं--तपोधन! इसी समय कद्रू और विनता दोनों बहनें एक साथ ही घूमनेके लिये निकलीं। उस समय उन्होंने उच्चै:श्रवा नामक घोड़ेको निकटसे जाते देखा। वह परम उत्तम अश्वरत्न अमृतके लिये समुद्रका मन्थन करते समय प्रकट हुआ था। उसमें अमोघ बल था। वह संसारके समस्त अअभ्रोंमें श्रेष्ठ, उत्तम गुणोंसे युक्त, सुन्दर, अजर, दिव्य एवं सम्पूर्ण शुभ लक्षणोंसे संयुक्त था। उसके अंग बड़े हृष्ट-पुष्ट थे। सम्पूर्ण देवताओंने उसकी भूरि-भूरि प्रशंसा की थी
śaunaka uvāca—tapodhana! asminn eva kāle kadrūś ca vinatā ca ubhe bhaginī ekasārdhaṃ vihārārthaṃ niryayatuḥ. tābhyāṃ ca samīpataḥ gacchantaṃ uccaiḥśravā-nāma aśvaṃ dadṛśatuḥ. sa paramottamaṃ aśvaratnam amṛtārthaṃ samudramanthane prādurbhūtam. tasminn amoghaṃ balaṃ āsīt. sa sarvāśvānāṃ loke śreṣṭhaḥ, uttamaguṇopetaḥ, sundaraḥ, ajaraḥ, divyaḥ, sarvaśubhalakṣaṇasaṃyuktaś ca. tasya aṅgāni hṛṣṭapuṣṭāni āsan. sarvair devaiḥ sa bahuśaḥ praśaṃsitaḥ.
Śaunaka said: “O ascetic rich in austerity! Just then, the two sisters Kadrū and Vinatā set out together for a stroll. At that time they saw, passing close by, the horse named Uccaiḥśravas—the supreme jewel among horses, which had arisen during the churning of the ocean for nectar. His strength was unfailing. He was the finest of all horses in the world: endowed with excellent qualities, beautiful, ageless, divine, and marked with every auspicious sign. His limbs were firm and well-built, and all the gods had praised him again and again.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how extraordinary beings and objects are recognized by their qualities and auspicious marks, and how divine praise follows true excellence. It also sets up the ethical tension that will arise from desire and rivalry when such a prized marvel is seen.
Kadrū and Vinatā go out together and see the celestial horse Uccaiḥśravas passing nearby. The narrator describes its divine origin from the ocean-churning and its unmatched, auspicious excellence, praised by the gods—preparing the ground for the sisters’ ensuing dispute.