Shloka 8

Plakṣāvataraṇa–Yamunā Tīrtha and Prajāpati’s Vedī

Kurukṣetra Threshold

Devanagari script

अन्रानुवंशं पठत: शृणु मे कुरुनन्दन । उलूखलैराभरणै: पिशाची यदभाषत,कुरुनन्दन! इस तीर्थके विषयमें एक परम्परा-प्राप्त कथाको सूचित करनेवाले कुछ श्लोक हैं जिन्हें मैं पढ़ता हूँ, तुम मेरे मुखसे सुनो--(प्राचीनकालकी बात है, कोई स्त्री अपने पुत्रके साथ इस तीर्थमें निवास करनेके लिये आयी थी, उससे) एक भयंकर पिशाचीने, जिसने ओखली-जैसे आभूषण पहन रखे थे, उन श्लोकोंको कहा था--

Transliteration

anrānuvamśaṃ paṭhataḥ śṛṇu me kurunandana | ulūkhalair ābharaṇaiḥ piśācī yad abhāṣata ||

Translation

ಕುರುನಂದನ, ನನ್ನ ಮಾತು ಕೇಳು—ವಂಶಪರಂಪರೆಯಿಂದ ಬಂದ ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ವೃತ್ತಾಂತವನ್ನು ನಾನು ಪಠಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಈ ತೀರ್ಥದಲ್ಲೇ, ಉಲೂಖಲದಂತ ಆಭರಣಗಳಿಂದ ಅಲಂಕರಿತವಾದ ಭಯಂಕರ ಪಿಶಾಚಿನಿ ಹೇಳಿದ ಶ್ಲೋಕಗಳನ್ನು ನಾನು ಓದುತ್ತೇನೆ; ಅವು ಈ ಪವಿತ್ರ ತೀರ್ಥಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಪರಂಪರಾಪ್ರಾಪ್ತ ಕಥೆಯನ್ನು ಸೂಚಿಸುತ್ತವೆ.

Word by Word

अन्रानुवंशम्the traditional lineage/account (received tradition)

पठतःI recite/read

शृणुhear (listen)

मेof me / my

कुरुनन्दनO delight of the Kurus

उलूखलैःwith mortars

आभरणैःwith ornaments

पिशाचीa female piśāca (ghoul/demoness)

यत्which (that which)

अभाषतshe spoke/said

कुरुनन्दनO delight of the Kurus

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kurunandana (Kuru prince, likely Yudhiṣṭhira)

Piśācī (female goblin)

Ulūkhala (mortar, as ornament imagery)

Tīrtha (sacred ford/pilgrimage place; implied by context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames the tīrtha’s significance through a tradition transmitted in succession: sacred places are understood not only by geography but by remembered narratives, and one should listen attentively to inherited accounts that preserve moral and ritual meaning.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker addresses a Kuru prince and announces that he will recite an old, tradition-based story connected with the tīrtha, specifically verses once spoken there by a terrifying piśācī described as wearing mortar-like ornaments.