Shloka 29

Devanagari script

प्रतिष्ठा सुप्रतिष्ठा च रोचमाना सुरोचना । नौकर्णी मुखकर्णी च विशिरा मन्थिनी तथा

Transliteration

pratiṣṭhā supratiṣṭhā ca rocamānā surocanā | naukarṇī mukhakarṇī ca viśirā manthinī tathā

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “(There were women named) Pratiṣṭhā and Supratiṣṭhā; Rocamānā and Surocanā; Naukarṇī and Mukhakarṇī; and likewise Viśirā and Manthinī.” In the midst of the war narrative, the text pauses to record these names, preserving memory and lineage—an ethical gesture of acknowledging persons rather than reducing events to mere violence.

Word by Word

प्रतिष्ठाPratiṣṭhā (a woman/name: 'firmly established')

सुप्रतिष्ठाSupratiṣṭhā (name: 'well-established')

चand

रोचमानाshining, radiant

सुरोचनाSurocanā (name: 'fair-eyed')

नौकर्णीNaukarṇī (name: 'boat-eared'/having ears like a boat)

मुखकर्णीMukhakarṇī (name: 'face-eared'/having ears on the face)

चand

विशिराViśirā (name)

मन्थिनीManthinī (name)

तथाlikewise, also

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pratiṣṭhā

Supratiṣṭhā

Rocamānā

Surocanā

Naukarṇī

Mukhakarṇī

Viśirā

Manthinī

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 exemplifies the epic’s ethical habit of remembrance: even amid war, individuals—especially women often otherwise marginal in battle narratives—are named and thus preserved in cultural memory and lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is reciting a catalogue of names (a list within the narration). This verse continues that enumeration by listing several women by name.