Shloka 35

Adhyaya 63: Daksha’s Progeny, Kashyapa’s Offspring, and the Rishi-Vamshas that Sustain the Worlds

Devanagari script

शेषवासुकिकर्कोटशङ्खैरावतकम्बलाः धनञ्जयमहानीलपद्माश्वतरतक्षकाः

Transliteration

śeṣavāsukikarkoṭaśaṅkhairāvatakambalāḥ dhanañjayamahānīlapadmāśvataratakṣakāḥ

Translation

एते नागाधिपतयः—शेषो वासुकिकर्कोटः शङ्ख ऐरावतः कम्बलश्च; तथा धनञ्जयो महानीलः पद्मोऽश्वतरस्तक्षकश्च।

Word by Word

• शेष (Śeṣa): Ananta, the primordial serpent

• वासुकि (Vāsuki): king of nāgas, famed in churning lore

• कर्कोट (Karkoṭa): a powerful nāga

• शङ्ख (Śaṅkha): a nāga named ‘Conch’

• ऐरावत (Airāvata): a nāga chief (name also known from Indra’s elephant)

• कम्बलाः (Kambala): a nāga chief ‘Blanket/covering’

• धनञ्जय (Dhanañjaya): a nāga chief ‘conqueror of wealth’

• महानील (Mahānīla): ‘great dark-blue’ nāga

• पद्म (Padma): ‘lotus’ nāga

• अश्वतर (Aśvatara): ‘horse-like’ nāga

• तक्षक (Takṣaka): the famed nāga Takṣaka

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shesha
• Vasuki
• Karkota
• Shankha
• Airavata
• Kambala
• Dhananjaya
• Mahanila
• Padma
• Ashvatara
• Takshaka

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It preserves a canonical enumeration of nāga-lords—cosmic beings often associated with subterranean realms, protection, and restraint—supporting the Purāṇic cosmology in which Linga worship situates Shiva as Pati, the Lord over all orders of beings.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

By listing mighty nāga chiefs within Shiva’s narrated cosmos, the verse implicitly affirms Shiva-tattva as sovereign and all-encompassing: even formidable powers linked with fear, poison, and hidden realms remain within the order governed by Pati (Shiva).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific puja-vidhi is stated; the takeaway is symbolic for Pāśupata-oriented reflection—nāgas can signify pasha (binding forces like fear and instinct), which the pashu (soul) transcends through Shiva-bhakti, jñāna, and disciplined yoga.