Shloka 53

Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank

Devanagari script

ग्रीवा चास्याभवद्‌ राजन्‌ कालरात्रिर्गुणोत्तरा एतद्धयशिर: कृत्वा नानामूर्तिभिरावृतम्‌

Transliteration

grīvā cāsyābhavad rājan kālarātrir guṇottarā | etad dhayaśiraḥ kṛtvā nānāmūrtibhir āvṛtam ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: “Wahai Raja, lehernya menjadi Kālarātri, mengatasi segala-galanya dalam kuasa yang menggerunkan. Menjadikannya sebagai kepala, ia berdiri terselubung oleh pelbagai rupa.”

Word by Word

ग्रीवाneck

चand

अस्यof him/its

अभवत्became/was

राजन्O king

कालरात्रिःKālarātri (Night of Time; a fierce goddess)

गुणोत्तराexcellent/superior in qualities

एतत्this

हयशिरःhorse-head

कृत्वाhaving made

नानाvarious

मूर्तिभिःwith forms

आवृतम्covered/enveloped

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

rājan (the king, i.e., Janamejaya in frame narrative)

Kālarātri

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses terrifying, cosmic imagery to underscore the supremacy of Time and destruction (Kālarātri) as forces that overtake embodied forms; it cautions against pride in power and points toward humility and dharmic restraint in the face of inevitable dissolution.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a being (or manifestation) undergoing a fearsome transformation: its neck becomes Kālarātri, and with a horse-like head it appears shrouded in multiple forms, emphasizing a dreadful, many-shaped apparition.