Shloka 12

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site

Devanagari script

ऋक्षाम्बिका निष्कुटिका वामा चत्वरवासिनी । सुमड्ला स्वस्तिमती बुद्धिकामा जयप्रिया

Transliteration

ṛkṣāmbikā niṣkuṭikā vāmā catvaravāsinī | sumaḍlā svastimatī buddhikāmā jaypriyā

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “(There were women named) Ṛkṣāmbikā, Niṣkuṭikā, Vāmā, and Catvaravāsinī; also Sumaḍlā, Svastimatī, Buddhikāmā, and Jaypriyā.” The verse functions as a catalog of named persons within the narrative, preserving lineage and memory amid the larger ethical and tragic setting of the war’s aftermath.

Word by Word

ऋक्षाम्बिकाR̥kṣāmbikā (a goddess/name)

निष्कुटिकाNiṣkuṭikā (a goddess/name)

वामाVāmā (fair/pleasant; also a name)

चत्वरवासिनीshe who dwells at the crossroads/square

सुमण्डलाSumāṇḍalā / the well-circled one (name/epithet)

स्वस्तिमतीauspicious; possessing well-being

बुद्धिकामाdesirous of intelligence/wisdom

जयप्रियाfond of victory

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Ṛ

Ṛkṣāmbikā

Niṣkuṭikā

Vāmā

Catvaravāsinī

Sumaḍlā

Svastimatī

Buddhikāmā

Jaypriyā

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is primarily documentary rather than didactic: it preserves specific names within the epic’s transmitted history. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such cataloging underscores the value of remembrance—individual lives and identities are not erased even amid the vast violence of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is reciting a list of named women (or persons with feminine names) as part of a larger descriptive or genealogical passage in Śalya Parva, Adhyāya 46, continuing the epic’s practice of recording participants and relations connected to the events around the Kurukṣetra war.