Shloka 85

Kubera’s Fivefold Nīti and Protection of the Pāṇḍavas (वैश्रवणोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

शिखण्डिनीभि श्षचरतां सहितानां शिखण्डिनाम्‌

Transliteration

śikhaṇḍinībhiḥ śacarātāṃ sahitānāṃ śikhaṇḍinām

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：“（其间）雌孔雀——施迦旃底尼——与雄孔雀——施迦旃丁——相伴成群，同步游行。”

Word by Word

• शिखण्डिनीभिः: by/with the peahens (female birds with crests)
• शिखण्डिनीभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखण्डिनी
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• श्चरतानाम्: of those moving/roaming
• श्चरतानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural, शतृ (present active participle), Present (ongoing action)

• सहितानाम्: of those accompanied/associated (together)
• सहितानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहित
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• शिखण्डिनाम्: of the peacocks (crested ones)
• शिखण्डिनाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखण्डिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• śikhaṇḍinī (female peafowl)
• śikhaṇḍin (male peafowl)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse primarily paints a forest tableau; ethically, it subtly highlights concord and companionship—beings moving together in mutual association—an implicit contrast to human discord that often drives the epic’s conflicts.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes a scene involving peafowl: female peafowl are present alongside male peafowl, all moving about together, contributing to the atmosphere and imagery of the forest episode in Vana Parva.