Shloka 13

यक्षोपाख्यान-प्रवेशः

Entry into the Yakṣa-Lake Episode

Devanagari script

बालस्याश्चा: प्रियाश्नास्य करोत्यश्चांश्व मृन्मयान्‌ । चित्रेषपि विलिखत्यश्षूंक्षित्राश्व॒ इति चोच्यते,इस बालकको अभश्व बहुत प्रिय हैं। यह मिट्टीके अश्व बनाया करता है और चित्र लिखते समय भी अश्वोंको ही अंकित करता है, अतः इसे “चित्राश्व" भी कहते हैं

Transliteration

bālasyāś ca aśvāḥ priyāḥ; aśnāsya karoty aśvān mṛṇmayān | citreṣv api vilikhati aśvān; citrāśva iti ca ucyate ||

Translation

ナーラダは言った。「その少年はとりわけ馬を愛している。土で馬を作り、絵を描くときでさえ馬ばかりを描く。ゆえに彼はまた『チトラーシュヴァ（Citrāśva）』――『絵の中に馬を持つ者』――とも呼ばれるのだ。」

Word by Word

बालस्यof the boy

अश्वाःhorses

चand

प्रियाःdear, beloved

अस्यof him, to him

करोतिmakes

अश्वान्horses

मृन्मयान्made of clay

चित्रेषुin pictures/drawings

अपिalso, even

विलिखतिdraws, sketches

अश्वान्horses

चित्राश्वः"Picture-horse" (one who draws horses); name/epithet

इतिthus

चand

उच्यतेis called

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

the boy (bāla)

horses (aśva)

clay/earth (mṛd)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A person’s dominant inclination reveals itself naturally in play and creativity; such repeated tendencies become the basis for recognition and even naming, suggesting that character can be inferred from consistent preferences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada describes a boy whose constant fascination with horses shows in everything he does—making clay horses and drawing horses—so people call him ‘Citrāśva’ as a descriptive epithet.