Shloka 3
Takṣaka’s agency, Parīkṣit’s rites, and Janamejaya’s enthronement (वैयासिक परम्परा-प्रसङ्गः)
सौतिरुवाच जरेति क्षयमाहुर्वैं दारुणं कारुसंज्ञितम् | शरीरं कारु तस्यासीत्तत् स धीमाउछनै: शनै:,उग्रश्रवाजीने कहा--शौनकजी! जरा कहते हैं क्षयको और कारु शब्द दारुणका वाचक है। पहले उनका शरीर कारु अर्थात् खूब हट्टा-कट्टा था। उसे परम बुद्धिमान् महर्षिने धीरे-धीरे तीव्र तपस्याद्वारा क्षीण बना दिया। ब्रह्म! इसलिये उनका नाम जरत्कारु पड़ा। वासुकिकी बहिनके भी जरत्कारु नाम पड़नेका यही कारण था
sautir uvāca—jarā iti kṣayam āhur vai, dāruṇaṃ kāru-saṃjñitam | śarīraṃ kāru tasya āsīt; tat sa dhīmān uccaiḥ śanaiḥ ugra-tapasā kṣīṇaṃ cakāra | brahman! tasmāt tasya nāma jaratkāruḥ; vāsuker api bhaginīyāḥ jaratkārū iti nāma tasyaiva kāraṇāt ||
Sinabi ni Sauti: “Ang salitang jarā ay ginagamit sa kahulugang ‘pagkapanlupaypay o pag-ubos,’ at ang kāru ay tumutukoy sa ‘nakapanghihilakbot’ o ‘mahigpit.’ Noong una, ang kanyang katawan ay kāru—matipuno at matatag; ngunit ang marunong na rishi ay unti-unting pinangayayat ito sa pamamagitan ng matinding pag-aayuno at pagninilay. Kaya, O Brahman, siya’y nakilala bilang Jaratkāru. Sa gayon ding dahilan, ang kapatid na babae ni Vāsuki ay tinawag ding Jaratkārū.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how identity and reputation can arise from one’s chosen discipline: the sage’s intense tapas leads to bodily emaciation (kṣaya), and his very name memorializes that ascetic transformation. It also models the Mahābhārata’s habit of grounding narrative in etymological explanation.
In response to Śaunaka’s inquiry, Sauti explains why the sage is called Jaratkāru and why Vāsuki’s sister bears the feminine form Jaratkārū: the terms are linked to ‘wasting/decay’ (jarā = kṣaya) and ‘severity/dreadfulness’ (kāru = dāruṇa), reflecting the sage’s gradual bodily thinning through fierce austerities.