Mahabharata 1.57.6 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 57, Shloka 6

अध्याय ५७ — राजोपरिचरवसोः धर्मोपदेशः, सत्यवत्याः उत्पत्तिः, व्यासजन्म च

Adhyāya 57: Indra’s Counsel to King Vasu; Origin of Satyavatī; Birth of Vyāsa

Devanagari script

पिच्छल: कौणपकश्चुक्र: कालवेग: प्रकालन: । हिरण्यबाहु: शरण: कक्षक: कालदन्तक:

Transliteration

śaunaka uvāca | picchalaḥ kauṇapakaś cukraḥ kālavegaḥ prakālanaḥ | hiraṇyabāhuḥ śaraṇaḥ kakṣakaḥ kāladantakaḥ ||

Translation

ശൗനകൻ പറഞ്ഞു—(അവരിൽ) പിച്ച്ഛല, കൗണപക, ചുക്ര, കാലവേഗ, പ്രകാലന, ഹിരണ്യബാഹു, ശരണ, കക്ഷക, കാലദന്തക എന്നിവരും ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• पिच्छलः: Picchala (a serpent name)
• पिच्छलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिच्छल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कौणपकः: Kauṇapaka (a serpent name)
• कौणपकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौणपक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चुक्रः: Cukra (a serpent name)
• चुक्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चुक्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कालवेगः: Kāla-vega, 'time/death-speed' (a serpent name)
• कालवेगः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालवेग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रकालनः: Prakālana (a serpent name)
• प्रकालनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकालन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हिरण्यबाहुः: Hiraṇya-bāhu, 'golden-armed' (a serpent name)
• हिरण्यबाहुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिरण्यबाहु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शरणः: Śaraṇa (a serpent name)
• शरणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कक्षकः: Kakṣaka (a serpent name)
• कक्षकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कक्षक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कालदन्तकः: Kāla-dantaka, 'time/death-toothed' (a serpent name)
• कालदन्तकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालदन्तक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śaunaka
• Picchala
• Kauṇapaka
• Cukra
• Kālavega
• Prakālana
• Hiraṇyabāhu
• Śaraṇa
• Kakṣaka
• Kāladantaka

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

By listing individual serpent-names within the larger account of the sarpa-yajña, the text underscores how mass violence driven by vengeance and inherited curses still falls upon distinct beings; it invites reflection on restraint (saṃyama) and compassion even when a narrative of ‘deserved fate’ is available.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka, in dialogue at the sages’ forest-sacrifice setting, enumerates serpents associated with the catastrophe of Janamejaya’s snake-sacrifice, where snakes—compelled by a curse and ritual power—are drawn into the fire; this naming occurs as part of recounting that episode’s scope and gravity.