Shloka 75

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

Devanagari script

लोहाजवक्त्रो जवन: कुम्भवकत्रश्न कुम्भक: | स्वर्णग्रीवश्च॒ कृष्णौजा हंसवक्त्रश्न चन्द्रभ:

Transliteration

Lohājavaktraḥ Javaṇaḥ Kumbhavaktraś ca Kumbhakaḥ | Svarṇagrīvaś ca Kṛṣṇaujā Haṃsavaktraś ca Candrabhaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Antara mereka ada Lohājavaktra, Javaṇa, Kumbhavaktra, Kumbhaka, Svarṇagrīva, Kṛṣṇaujā, Haṃsavaktra, dan Candrabha.”

Word by Word

लोहाजवक्त्रःone whose face/mouth is like iron

जवनःJavana (a proper name)

कुम्भवक्त्रःone whose face is like a pot (kumbha-faced)

चand

कुम्भकःKumbhaka (a proper name)

स्वर्णग्रीवःone with a golden neck

चand

कृष्णौजाःone of dark/black vigor (dark-energy)

हंसवक्त्रःone whose face is like a swan

चand

चन्द्रभाःone having moon-like radiance

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Lohājavaktra

Javaṇa

Kumbhavaktra

Kumbhaka

Svarṇagrīva

Kṛṣṇaujā

Haṃsavaktra

Candrabha

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 itself is not a direct moral injunction; its ethical force is indirect: by enumerating many named warriors with distinctive epithets, it highlights the vast human participation in war and invites reflection on the weight of collective responsibility and the far-reaching consequences of adharma-driven conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, lists a set of warriors (or notable persons in the war context) by name/epithet. This kind of catalogue passage situates the listener within the scale of the battle and records who was present among the combatants.