Shloka 17

Uttanka’s Guru-Śuśrūṣā and the Commission to Retrieve the Maṇikuṇḍalas (उत्तङ्क-गुरुशुश्रूषा तथा मणिकुण्डल-आदेशः)

Devanagari script

भीषण बद्धनिस्त्रिंशं बाणकार्मुकधारिणम्‌ | तस्याध: स्रोतसो5पश्यद्‌ वारि भूरि द्विजोत्तम:

Transliteration

bhīṣaṇa-baddha-nistriṁśaṁ bāṇa-kārmuka-dhāriṇam | tasyādhaḥ srotaso 'paśyad vāri bhūri dvijottamaḥ ||

Translation

Ele parecia terrivelmente ameaçador: a espada estava presa à cintura, e nas mãos trazia arco e flechas. Então Uttaṅka, o melhor entre os duas-vezes-nascidos, viu que de uma abertura abaixo, perto de seus pés, jorrava uma corrente copiosa de água.

Word by Word

• भीषणम्: terrible, dreadful
• भीषणम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीषण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• बद्ध-निस्त्रिंशम्: having a sword fastened (at the waist)
• बद्ध-निस्त्रिंशम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बद्धनिस्त्रिंश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• बाण-कार्मुक-धारिणम्: bearing arrows and a bow
• बाण-कार्मुक-धारिणम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तस्य: of him/its
• तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• अधः: below, beneath
• अधः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधः

• स्रोतसः: from an opening/stream-channel
• स्रोतसः: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्रोतस्
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• अपश्यत्: saw
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Imperfect, 3, Singular, Parasmaipada

• वारि: water
• वारि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारि
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• भूरि: much, abundant
• भूरि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूरि
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• द्विज-उत्तमः: the best of Brahmins
• द्विज-उत्तमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

उत्तडुक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Uttaṅka
• a fearsome armed figure (unidentified in this verse)
• sword (nistriṁśa)
• bow (kārmuka)
• arrows (bāṇa)
• water stream (srotas/vāri)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how outward power and terror (weapons, fearsome appearance) can accompany hidden forces that sustain the world (the abundant water-stream). It invites discernment: dharma requires looking beyond appearances to perceive underlying realities and causes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Uttaṅka describes seeing a frightening, armed figure with a sword at his waist and bow and arrows in hand. Uttaṅka then notices that a large flow of water is issuing from an opening beneath the figure, near his feet—an ominous and suggestive detail that points to a deeper, possibly supernatural context.