Shloka 4

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

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

Devanagari script

अप्सु जाता च गोपाली बृहदम्बालिका तथा । जयावती मालतिका ध्रुवरत्ना भयंकरी

Transliteration

apsu jātā ca gopālī bṛhadambālikā tathā | jayāvatī mālatikā dhruvaratnā bhayaṅkarī

Translation

அப்ஸுஜாதா மற்றும் கோபாலி; அதுபோல ப்ருஹதம்பாலிகா; ஜயாவதி, மாலதிகா, த்ருவரத்னா, பயங்கரி.

Word by Word

• अप्सु: in the waters
• अप्सु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Plural

• जाता: born
• जाता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जात
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• गोपाली: Gopālī (a woman’s name)
• गोपाली: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपाली
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• बृहदम्बालिका: Bṛhad-ambālikā (the great Ambālikā; a name)
• बृहदम्बालिका: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बृहद् + अम्बालिका
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• तथा: likewise/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• जयावती: Jayāvatī (a woman’s name)
• जयावती: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जयावती
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• मालतिका: Mālatikā (a woman’s name)
• मालतिका: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मालतिका
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• ध्रुवरत्ना: Dhruva-ratnā (the steadfast jewel; a name)
• ध्रुवरत्ना: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्रुव + रत्ना
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• भयंकरी: terrifying; fear-causing
• भयंकरी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भयंकरी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Apsu-jātā
• Gopālī
• Bṛhadambālikā
• Jayāvatī
• Mālatikā
• Dhruvaratnā
• Bhayaṅkarī

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This verse is primarily descriptive rather than didactic: it preserves memory through precise naming. In epic ethics, such catalogues underscore accountability and continuity—individuals are not anonymous within the moral universe of the Mahābhārata.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is listing a sequence of named women/figures (Apsu-jātā, Gopālī, Bṛhadambālikā, Jayāvatī, Mālatikā, Dhruvaratnā, Bhayaṅkarī), functioning as an enumeration within the Shalya Parva’s ongoing account.