Shloka 63

Śakuntalā-Janma-Nāmakaraṇa (Birth and Naming of Śakuntalā) | शकुन्तला-जन्म-नामकरणम्

Devanagari script

ततस्त्वैसवतं नागं जज्ञे भद्रमना: सुतम्‌ । ऐरावत: सुतस्तस्या देवनागो महागज:,नरश्रेष्ठी समस्त मृग मृगीकी संतानें हैं। परंतप! मृगमन्दासे रीछ तथा सृमर (छोटी जातिके मृग) उत्पन्न हुए। भद्रमनाने ऐरावत हाथीको अपने पुत्ररूपमें उत्पन्न किया। देवताओंका हाथी महान्‌ गजराज ऐरावत भद्रमनाका ही पुत्र है

Transliteration

tatas tv airāvataṃ nāgaṃ jajñe bhadramanāḥ sutam | airāvataḥ sutastasyā devanāgo mahāgajaḥ ||

Translation

Disse Vaiśampāyana: Depois, Bhadrāmanā deu à luz o elefante Airāvata como seu filho. Esse Airāvata—celebrado como o elefante dos deuses e poderoso senhor entre os elefantes—nasceu de fato dela. A passagem sublinha o desdobrar ordenado da criação e da linhagem: até os seres excelsos são reconduzidos a origens definidas, afirmando a preocupação do Mahābhārata com a genealogia e o arranjo cósmico.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

तुbut/and (emphatic)

ऐसवतंof the Aisvata lineage / named Aisvata

नागंelephant

जज्ञेwas born / came to be

भद्रमनाःBhadramanā (lit. one whose mind is auspicious)

सुतम्a son

ऐरावतःAirāvata

सुतःson

तस्याःof her

देवनागःthe gods' elephant

महागजःthe great elephant

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhadrāmanā

Airāvata

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes orderly lineage and cosmic arrangement: even the most exalted beings (like the divine elephant Airāvata) have traceable origins, reinforcing the Mahābhārata’s ethical-cosmic view that the world is structured through lawful descent and interconnected creation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues a genealogical/creation sequence, stating that Bhadrāmanā bore Airāvata as her son, identifying him as the famed divine elephant and a great lord among elephants.