Shloka 17
अध्याय ३५ — वासुकिचिन्ता-शमनम्
Vāsuki’s Anxiety and Brahmā’s Confirmation
एते प्राधान्यतो नागा: कीर्तिता द्विजसत्तम । बहुत्वान्नामधेयानामितरे नानुकीर्तिता:,द्विजश्रेष्ठ! ये मुख्य-मुख्य नाग यहाँ बताये गये हैं। सर्पोंकी संख्या अधिक होनेसे उनके नाम भी बहुत हैं। अत: अन्य अप्रधान नागोंके नाम यहाँ नहीं कहे गये हैं
ete prādhānyato nāgāḥ kīrtitā dvijasattama | bahutvān nāmadheyānām itare nānukīrtitāḥ ||
Wika ni Śaunaka: “O pinakamainam sa mga ‘dalawang ulit na isinilang’, ang mga Nāgang ito ay binanggit pangunahin dahil sa kanilang katanyagan. Sapagkat napakarami ng mga angkan ng ahas at napakarami ng kanilang mga pangalan, ang iba pang hindi pangunahing Nāga ay hindi na isinalaysay dito.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a principle of responsible narration: when a subject is vast, a text may present only the principal representatives, acknowledging the limits of exhaustive listing while preserving the main line of tradition.
Śaunaka addresses a learned listener, explaining that only the foremost Nāgas have been named so far; the rest are omitted because their numbers and names are too many for full enumeration at this point.