Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
तथैवासं त्रिककुदो वाराहं रूपमास्थित: । त्रिककुत् तेन विख्यात: शरीरस्य तु मापनात्
tathaivāsaṃ trikakudo vārāhaṃ rūpam āsthitaḥ | trikakut tena vikhyātaḥ śarīrasya tu māpanāt ||
याच प्रकारे मी वराहरूप धारण केले; माझ्या गौर देहावर तीन ककुद् (उन्नत उभार) होते. त्या तीन उभारांच्या—देहाच्या मापानेच ओळखल्या जाणाऱ्या—कारणामुळे मी ‘त्रिककुद्’ या नावाने विख्यात झालो.
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
The verse illustrates how names and reputations (vikhyāti) can arise from observable qualities and deeds—here, a distinctive bodily feature in a chosen form—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s recurring idea that identity is often defined by conduct and manifest attributes rather than mere lineage or claim.
The speaker recounts a past transformation into a boar form characterized by three raised humps/peaks, explaining that this physical trait became the basis for the epithet ‘Trikakut,’ an etiological note on how the name originated.