Mahabharata 9.46.526 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 46, Shloka 526

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site

Devanagari script

समरेषु जयं चैव प्रददौ लोकभावन: । राजा वरुणने बल और वीर्यसे सम्पन्न एक नाग भेंट किया और लोकस्रष्टा भगवान्‌ ब्रह्माने ब्राह्मणहितैषी कुमारको काला मृगचर्म तथा युद्धमें विजयका आशीर्वाद प्रदान किया

Transliteration

samareṣu jayaṃ caiva pradadau lokabhāvanaḥ | rājā varuṇena bala-vīrya-sampannaṃ nāgaṃ bhentaṃ kṛtvā lokasraṣṭā bhagavān brahmā brāhmaṇa-hitaiṣī kumārakaṃ kāla-mṛga-carma tathā yuddhe vijayāśīrvādaṃ pradadau |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana disse: No contexto da batalha, o sustentador do mundo também concedeu a vitória. O rei Varuṇa apresentou como dádiva uma serpente nāga, poderosa e dotada de valor; e Brahmā, criador do mundo, zeloso do bem dos brāhmaṇas, concedeu ao jovem uma pele de antílope negro e a bênção do triunfo na guerra.

Word by Word

• समरेषु: in battles
• समरेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• जयम्: victory
• जयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: जय
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• प्रददौ: gave/bestowed
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + दा
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• लोकभावनः: the sustainer/creator of the worlds
• लोकभावनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोकभावन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Varuṇa
• Brahmā
• kumāraka (a young boy)
• nāga (serpent/nāga-being)
• kāla-mṛga-carma (black antelope skin)
• jaya (victory)
• yuddha (war)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Victory in war is portrayed as more than physical prowess: it is linked to divine sanction and to alignment with dharma—here emphasized through Brahmā’s brāhmaṇa-friendly disposition and the bestowal of a ritually significant antelope-skin, suggesting disciplined, dharmic conduct alongside martial success.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates a sequence of boons and gifts: Varuṇa offers a powerful nāga as a present, and Brahmā grants the boy a black antelope-skin and a blessing of victory in battle, indicating the recipient’s empowerment through both symbolic ritual items and explicit martial benediction.