Shloka 37

कार्त्तिकेयाभिषेकः — Consecration of Kārttikeya and the Enumeration of His Retinue

Devanagari script

ततो5भवच्चतुर्मूर्ति: क्षणेन भगवान्‌ प्रभु:

Transliteration

tato 'bhavac caturmūrtiḥ kṣaṇena bhagavān prabhuḥ

Translation

അനന്തരം ക്ഷണമാത്രത്തിൽ ഭഗവാൻ പ്രഭു ചതുര്മൂർത്തിയായി പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെട്ടു।

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from/then')

• अभवत्: became/was
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• चतुर्मूर्तिः: four-formed one
• चतुर्मूर्तिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्मूर्ति
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• क्षणेन: in an instant
• क्षणेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम्

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• भगवान्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत्
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• प्रभुः: the master/lord
• प्रभुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• bhagavān (the Lord)
• prabhu (the sovereign Lord)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the immediacy and supremacy of divine power: the Lord can assume multiple forms at will, suggesting that behind the visible events of the war operates a higher, transcendent agency that can reveal itself suddenly.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that the Lord instantly becomes “four-formed,” indicating a sudden divine manifestation (a theophany) occurring within the unfolding events of the Śalya Parva episode.