Shloka 366

कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī

Devanagari script

चिच्छेदास्य शिरो राजन्नपां फेनेन वासव: । राजन! इस प्रकार प्रतिज्ञा करके भी देवराज इन्द्रने चारों ओर कुहासा छाया हुआ देख पानीके फेनसे नमुचिका सिर काट लिया

Transliteration

cicchedāsya śiro rājann apāṁ phenena vāsavaḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, Vāsava (Indra) severed his head with the foam of water. Though bound by a vow not to kill with what is wet or dry, and seeing the world veiled in mist, Indra used water-foam—neither strictly wet nor dry—to fulfill his purpose. The episode highlights how vows can be preserved in form while their spirit is strained, raising an ethical tension between clever compliance and true integrity.”

Word by Word

• चिच्छेद: cut off
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3, singular, Parasmaipada

• अस्य: of him/its
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, singular

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• अपाम्: of waters
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्
• Form: feminine, genitive, plural

• फेनेन: with foam
• फेनेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: फेन
• Form: masculine, instrumental, singular

• वासवः: Vāsava (Indra)
• वासवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासव
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Indra (Vāsava)
• Namuçi (implied by context)