Shloka 93

Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)

Devanagari script

तथैवासं त्रिककुदो वाराहं रूपमास्थित: । त्रिककुत्‌ तेन विख्यात: शरीरस्य तु मापनात्‌,इसी प्रकार वराहरूप धारण करनेपर गौर शरीरमें तीन ककुद्‌ (ऊँचे स्थान) थे; इसलिये शरीरके मापसे मैं 'त्रिककुद” नामसे विख्यात हुआ

Transliteration

tathaivāsaṃ trikakudo vārāhaṃ rūpam āsthitaḥ | trikakut tena vikhyātaḥ śarīrasya tu māpanāt ||

Translation

అదేవిధంగా నేను వరాహరూపాన్ని ధరించాను; నా శరీరంపై మూడు కకుదులు (ఎత్తైన ఉబ్బులు) కనిపించాయి. ఆ మూడు ఉన్నతాలే—శరీర లక్షణాలుగా కొలవబడినవే—నన్ను ‘త్రికకుత్’ అనే పేరుతో ప్రసిద్ధుడిని చేశాయి.

Word by Word

तथाthus, in that manner

एवindeed, just

अहम्I

त्रिककुदःTrikakud (one having three humps/peaks)

वाराहम्boar (as), boar-like

रूपम्form

आस्थितःhaving assumed, having taken (up)

त्रिककुत्Trikakud (name/title)

तेनby that, therefore

विख्यातःbecame renowned, was known

शरीरस्यof the body

तुbut, indeed

मापनात्from (the fact of) measuring; due to the measure

Speaker

तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ

Characters & Entities

Trikakut (epithet/name)

Vārāha (boar form)

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 illustrates how names and reputations (vikhyāti) can arise from observable qualities and deeds—here, a distinctive bodily feature in a chosen form—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s recurring idea that identity is often defined by conduct and manifest attributes rather than mere lineage or claim.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker recounts a past transformation into a boar form characterized by three raised humps/peaks, explaining that this physical trait became the basis for the epithet ‘Trikakut,’ an etiological note on how the name originated.