Shloka 16

Kāleya-Āśrama-Vināśaḥ — The Kāleyas’ nocturnal raids and the devas’ supplication to Nārāyaṇa

Devanagari script

करेणुभिवररिणैश्व प्रभिन्नकरटामुखै: । सरो<वगाढै: क्रीडद्धि:ः समन्‍्तादनुनादितम्‌,अपने कपोलोंसे मदकी धारा बहानेवाले हाथी और हथिनियाँ वहाँ सरोवरके जलनमें गोते लगाकर क्रीड़ाएँ कर रहे थे, जिससे आश्रमके चारों ओर कोलाहल-सा हो रहा था

Transliteration

kareṇūbhir vara-āriṇaiś ca prabhinnakaraṭāmukhaiḥ | saro'vagāḍhaiḥ krīḍadbhiḥ samantād anunāditam ||

Translation

അവിടെ ആനകളും ആനപ്പെൺകളുമ്—ശക്തരും മദോന്മത്തരുമായി, കപോളങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് മദധാര ഒഴുകി—സരോവരത്തിൽ ഇറങ്ങി വെള്ളത്തിൽ ക്രീഡിച്ചു. അവരുടെ കളിയാൽ എല്ലാദിക്കിലും മുഴക്കം ഉയർന്നു; ആശ്രമപ്രദേശമൊട്ടാകെ പ്രതിധ്വനികളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞു.

Word by Word

करेणुभिःby/with female elephants

वरारिणैःby/with excellent enemies (i.e., mighty ones)

चand

प्रभिन्नकरटामुखैःby/with those whose temples and faces were streaming (rut-fluid)

सरोवरगाढैःby/with those plunged deep in the lake

क्रीडद्भिःby/with (them) playing/sporting

समन्तात्on all sides, all around

अनुनादितम्resounded, made to echo

Speaker

लोगमश उवाच

Characters & Entities

Lomasa

elephants

female elephants (kareṇū)

lake (saras)

hermitage/āśrama (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 primarily offers vivid natural description rather than direct moral instruction; indirectly, it highlights the forest-āśrama setting as a living, resonant ecosystem where even powerful creatures move according to their nature, suggesting harmony between ascetic spaces and the wider natural world.

What is happening in the narrative?

Lomasa describes a scene near the hermitage: rutting elephants and cow-elephants have entered the lake, immersing themselves and playing, and the sound of their sport reverberates all around the area.