Shloka 25

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

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

Devanagari script

क्षुककर्णी चतुष्कर्णी कर्णप्रावरणा तथा । चतुष्यथनिकेता च गोकर्णी महिषानना

Transliteration

kṣukakarṇī catuṣkarṇī karṇaprāvaraṇā tathā | catuṣyathaniketā ca gokarṇī mahiṣānanā

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “(There were beings) named Kṣukakarṇī, Catuṣkarṇī, and Karṇaprāvaraṇā; also Catuṣyathaniketā, Gokarṇī, and Mahiṣānanā.” The verse functions as a catalog of ominous or extraordinary figures, heightening the atmosphere of dread and moral disorder surrounding the war’s climactic events.

Word by Word

क्षुककर्णीthe (woman/being) with small ears

चतुष्कर्णीthe four-eared one

कर्णप्रावरणाshe whose covering is (like) ears / ear-covered

तथाand also; likewise

चतुष्यथनिकेताshe whose abode is at the four roads (crossroads-dweller)

चand

गोकर्णीcow-eared; having ears like a cow

महिषाननाbuffalo-faced; having the face of a buffalo

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

व

वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana)

Kṣukakarṇī

Catuṣkarṇī

Karṇaprāvaraṇā

Catuṣyathaniketā

Gokarṇī

Mahiṣānanā

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 underscores how the epic uses lists of uncanny, liminal figures as moral atmosphere: when adharma dominates and catastrophe nears, the world is portrayed as disturbed, and ominous presences multiply—prompting reflection on ethical collapse and its cosmic/social repercussions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is enumerating named beings characterized by striking physical epithets (e.g., ‘four-eared’, ‘buffalo-faced’). This cataloging intensifies the sense of dread and abnormality around the late-war setting in Śalya Parva.