Shloka 62

Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission

Devanagari script

चर्तुर्वष्टोडष्टजिह्नश्व मेघनाद: पृथुश्रवा: | विद्युताक्षो धनुर्वकत्रो जाठरो मारुताशन:

Transliteration

caturvaṣṭoḍaṣṭajihnaśva megha-nādaḥ pṛthu-śravāḥ | vidyutākṣo dhanurvaktraḥ jāṭharo mārutāśanaḥ ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു— (അവിടെ) മേഘനാദ, പൃഥുശ്രവാ, വിദ്യുതാക്ഷ, ധനുർവക്ത്ര, ജാഠര, മാരുതാശന എന്ന പേരുകളുള്ള യോദ്ധാക്കൾ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു— അവരുടെ പേരുകൾ തന്നെ ഇടിമുഴക്കം, മിന്നൽ, ദഹനാഗ്നി എന്നിവയെ ഓർമ്മിപ്പിച്ചു.

Word by Word

चतुर्वष्टिःsixty-four

अष्टजिह्नःhaving eight tongues

मेघनादःcloud-roar (thunder-like sound/name)

पृथुश्रवाःof broad/far-reaching fame; loud-voiced

विद्युताक्षःhaving lightning-like eyes

धनुर्वक्त्रःhaving a bow-like mouth/face

जाठरःbelly-like; pertaining to the belly (name/epithet)

मारुताशनःwind-eater; fire (name/epithet)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Meghanāda

Pṛthuśravā

Vidyutākṣa

Dhanurvaktra

Jāṭhara

Mārutāśana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse functions as a martial catalogue: by listing warriors with elemental, fearsome names (thunder, lightning, fire), it underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension—human beings, driven by ambition and allegiance, become instruments of vast destruction, reminding the listener that war magnifies both valor and ruin.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues the narration by naming notable fighters present in the ongoing conflict of the Śalya Parva section, emphasizing the scale and intensity of the battle through evocative proper names.