Shloka 19

Devanagari script

पराशरस्तरुणको मणि: स्कन्धस्तथारुणि: । इति नागा मया ब्रद्यन्‌ कीर्तिता: कीर्तिवर्धना:,ब्रह्मन! अब धृतराष्ट्रके कुलमें उत्पन्न नागोंके नामोंका मुझसे यथावत्‌ वर्णन सुनो। वे वायुके समान वेगशाली और अत्यन्त विषैले थे। (उनके नाम इस प्रकार हैं--) शंकुकर्ण, पिठरक, कुठार, मुखसेचक, पूर्णांगद, पूर्णमुख, प्रहास, शकुनि, दरि, अमाहठ, कामठक, सुषेण, मानस, अव्यय, भैरव, मुण्डवेदांग, पिशंग, उद्रपारक, ऋषभ, वेगवान्‌ नाग, पिण्डारक, महाहनु, रक्तांग, सर्वसारंग, समृद्ध, पटवासक, वराहक, वीरणक, सुचित्र, चित्रवेगिक, पराशर, तरुणक, मणि, स्कन्‍्ध और आरुणि--([ये सभी धूृतराष्ट्रवंशी नाग सर्पसत्रकी आगमें जलकर भस्म हो गये थे।) ब्रह्मन! इस प्रकार मैंने अपने कुलकी कीर्ति बढ़ानेवाले मुख्य-मुख्य नागोंका वर्णन किया है। उनकी संख्या बहुत है, इसलिये सबका नामोल्लेख नहीं किया गया है। इन सबकी संतानोंकी और संतानोंकी संततिकी, जो प्रज्वलित अग्निमें जल मरी थीं, गणना नहीं की जा सकती। किसीके तीन सिर थे तो किसीके सात तथा कितने ही दस-दस सिरवाले नाग थे

Transliteration

parāśaras taruṇako maṇiḥ skandhas tathāruṇiḥ | iti nāgā mayā bradyañ kīrtitāḥ kīrtivardhanāḥ ||

Translation

Śaunaka said: “Parāśara, Taruṇaka, Maṇi, Skandha, and likewise Aruṇi—these nāgas have been named by me, O brāhmaṇa, as enhancers of renown. Now hear from me, in due order, the names of the serpents born in Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s lineage—swift as the wind and exceedingly venomous.” In context, this verse forms part of a longer catalogue of Dhṛtarāṣṭra-vaṃśa nāgas, many of whom perished in the blazing fire of Janamejaya’s serpent-sacrifice; the ethical undertone is the tragic consequence of inherited enmity and ritual violence, set against the narrator’s duty to preserve lineage-memory through accurate naming.

Word by Word

पराशरःParāśara (name)

तरुणकःTarunaka (name)

मणिःMaṇi (name; jewel)

स्कन्धःSkandha (name; shoulder/trunk)

तथाand also/likewise

आरुणिःĀruṇi (name)

इतिthus (quotative)

नागाःNāgas/serpents

मयाby me

ब्रद्यन्speaking/saying

कीर्तिताःhave been mentioned/celebrated

कीर्तिवर्धनाःincreasing fame

ब्रह्मन्O Brahmin!

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

श

शौनक (Śaunaka)

ब

ब्राह्मण (brāhmaṇa) (addressee in context)

ध

धृतराष्ट्र (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) (as lineage-name for nāgas in the surrounding passage)

प

पराशर (Parāśara) (nāga)

त

तरुणक (Taruṇaka) (nāga)

म

मणि (Maṇi) (nāga)

स

स्कन्ध (Skandha) (nāga)

अ

अरुणि (Aruṇi) (nāga)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the dharma of accurate remembrance and transmission: naming and preserving lineage-history (kīrti) is a sacred narrative duty, while the broader episode warns how inherited hostility and ritualized vengeance can culminate in mass destruction (as in the serpent-sacrifice).

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka continues a catalogue of nāgas, listing specific names (Parāśara, Taruṇaka, Maṇi, Skandha, Aruṇi) and indicating that these are ‘glory-enhancing’ members of the line; in the surrounding passage he proceeds to describe the Dhṛtarāṣṭra-line nāgas and their fate in the serpent-sacrifice.