Shloka 24

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site

Devanagari script

लोहिताक्षी महाकाया हरिपिण्डा च भूमिप । एकत्वचा सुकुसुमा कृष्णकर्णी च भारत

Transliteration

lohitākṣī mahākāyā haripiṇḍā ca bhūmipa | ekatvacā sukusumā kṛṣṇakarṇī ca bhārata ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ഹേ ഭൂമിപാ! ലോഹിതാക്ഷീ, മഹാകായാ, ഹരിപിണ്ഡാ; കൂടാതെ ഏകത്വചാ, സുകുസുമാ, കൃഷ്ണകർണീ—ഹേ ഭാരതാ!—ഇവരും (അവിടെ) കണ്ടു/ഉല്ലേഖിക്കപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• लोहिताक्षी: red-eyed (female)
• लोहिताक्षी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोहिताक्षी (लोहित + अक्षि)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महाकाया: large-bodied (female)
• महाकाया: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाकाया (महा + काया)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• हरिपिण्डा: having a tawny/yellowish body-mass (female)
• हरिपिण्डा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हरिपिण्डा (हरि + पिण्ड)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भूमिप: O king (protector of the earth)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमिप (भूमि + प)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• एकत्वचा: single-skinned / of one hide (female)
• एकत्वचा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकत्वचा (एक + त्वच्/त्वचा)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• सुकुसुमा: well-flowered / having fine blossoms (female)
• सुकुसुमा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुकुसुमा (सु + कुसुम)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• कृष्णकर्णी: black-eared (female)
• कृष्णकर्णी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्णकर्णी (कृष्ण + कर्ण)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भारत: O Bharata (descendant of Bharata)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• bhūmipa (the king, i.e., Janamejaya in the frame narrative)
• Bhārata (descendant of Bharata; form of address)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse primarily functions as descriptive narration rather than a direct moral injunction; its ethical force lies in how the epic frames war-time events through signs and unusual characteristics, reminding rulers to remain attentive, discerning, and responsible amid ominous or extraordinary occurrences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana lists a set of striking physical traits—red eyes, huge body, tawny complexion, uniform skin, delicate form, dark ears—within a sequence of descriptions that typically accompanies the epic’s depiction of unusual beings or portents during the Shalya Parva war narrative.