Shloka 57

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

Devanagari script

अनन्तो द्वादशभुजस्तथा कृष्णोपकृष्णकौ । प्राणश्रवा: कपिस्कन्ध: काज्चनाक्षो जलन्धम:

Transliteration

ananto dvādaśabhujas tathā kṛṣṇopakṛṣṇakau | prāṇaśravāḥ kapiskandhaḥ kāñcanākṣo jalandhamaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: “(Antara mereka ada) Ananta yang berlengan dua belas; juga Kṛṣṇa dan Upakṛṣṇa; Prāṇaśravā; Kapiskandha; Kāñcanākṣa; dan Jalandhama.”

Word by Word

अनन्तःAnanta (the infinite one; name)

द्वादशभुजःtwelve-armed

तथाand also; likewise

कृष्णKṛṣṇa

उपकृष्णकौthe two Upakṛṣṇakas (a pair of named beings)

प्राणश्रवाःPrāṇaśravā (name)

कपिस्कन्धःKapi-skandha (monkey-shouldered; name/epithet)

काञ्चनाक्षःgolden-eyed (name/epithet)

जलन्धमःJalandhama (name)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Ananta

Kṛṣṇa

Upakṛṣṇa

Prāṇaśravā

Kapiskandha

Kāñcanākṣa

Jalandhama

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 roll-call within the war narrative: by enumerating named figures with distinctive epithets, it highlights the breadth of human involvement in conflict and implicitly points to the ethical weight of war—many lives and reputations become entangled when dharma is violated and battle becomes inevitable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues a catalogue of participants (or notable persons) connected with the events of the Shalya Parva, listing several individuals—Ananta, Kṛṣṇa, Upakṛṣṇa, Prāṇaśravā, Kapiskandha, Kāñcanākṣa, and Jalandhama—as part of the larger enumeration typical of battlefield or lineage descriptions.