Mahabharata 4.6.17 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 6, Shloka 17

Adhyāya 6: Kaṅka (Yudhiṣṭhira) Seeks Refuge in Virāṭa’s Assembly

Devanagari script

विन्ध्ये चैव नगश्रेष्ठे तव स्थान हि शाश्व॒तम्‌ | कालि कालि महाकालि खड्गखट्वाड्रधारिणि

Transliteration

vindhye caiva nagaśreṣṭhe tava sthāna hi śāśvatam | kāli kāli mahākāli khaḍga-khaṭvāṅga-dhāriṇi |

Translation

บนภูเขาวินธยะ อันประเสริฐที่สุดในหมู่ขุนเขา ที่ประทับของเธอนั้นเป็นนิรันดร์ โอ้กาลี โอ้กาลี โอ้มหากาลี—ผู้ทรงดาบและคัฏวางคะ!

Word by Word

• विन्ध्ये: in (the) Vindhya (mountain)
• विन्ध्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विन्ध्य
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

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

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

• नगश्रेष्ठे: in the best of mountains
• नगश्रेष्ठे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नगश्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तव: your
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• स्थानम्: abode/place
• स्थानम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• शाश्वतम्: eternal
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाश्वत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• कालि: O Kali
• कालि: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: काली
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• कालि: O Kali
• कालि: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: काली
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• महाकालि: O Mahakali
• महाकालि: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाकाली
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• खड्गखट्वाङ्गधारिणि: O bearer of sword and khatvanga
• खड्गखट्वाङ्गधारिणि: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खड्ग-खट्वाङ्ग-धारिणी
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Vindhya (Vindhyācala)
• Kālī
• Mahākālī
• khaḍga (sword)
• khaṭvāṅga

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes reverent remembrance of divine power: the goddess is praised as eternally established in a sacred place and as a protector whose fierce attributes (weapons) signify the removal of threats and obstacles. Ethically, it frames strength as protective and dharma-supporting rather than merely destructive.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates an invocation addressed to Kālī/Mahākālī, identifying her eternal abode on the Vindhya mountains and describing her as weapon-bearing. It reads as part of a stuti (praise) that calls upon the goddess’s presence and protection.