Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 7

Dynasty of Kṣatravṛddha: Kāśi Kings, Dhanvantari, Rajī’s Sons, and the Transition to Nahuṣa

Devanagari script

षष्टिंवर्षसहस्राणि षष्टिंवर्षशतानि च । नालर्कादपरो राजन् बुभुजे मेदिनीं युवा ॥ ७ ॥

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-śatāni ca nālarkād aparo rājan bubhuje medinīṁ yuvā

Translation

يا أيها الملك! إن ألركَة ابنَ ديومان حكم الأرض في شبابه ستين ألف سنة وستَّ مئة—أي ستةً وستين ألفًا. ولم يحكم أحدٌ غيره الأرضَ هذه المدة الطويلة وهو في ريعان الشباب.

Synonyms

• ṣaṣṭim: sixty
• ṣaṣṭim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used as numeral (संख्यावाचक)

• varṣa-sahasrāṇi: thousands of years
• varṣa-sahasrāṇi: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (varṣāṇāṃ sahasrāṇi) = 'thousands of years'

• ṣaṣṭim: sixty
• ṣaṣṭim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); numeral (संख्यावाचक)

• varṣa-śatāni: hundreds of years
• varṣa-śatāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (varṣāṇāṃ śatāni) = 'hundreds of years'

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चय)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), negation particle (निषेध)

• alarkāt: than Alarka/from Alarka
• alarkāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: alarka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• aparaḥ: another (greater/other)
• aparaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); comparative sense with ablative (पञ्चमी)

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• bubhuje: enjoyed/ruled
• bubhuje: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhuj (भुज् धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• medinīm: the earth
• medinīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: medinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• yuvā: (while) young
• yuvā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

Characters & Entities

• Alarka
• Mahārāja Parīkṣit

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about King Alarka?

This verse states that Alarka uniquely ruled the earth for an extraordinarily long span—sixty thousand and six hundred years—while still remaining youthful.

Why does Śukadeva Gosvāmī address Parīkṣit Mahārāja as “O King” here?

Śukadeva is narrating royal genealogies and exemplary reigns to Parīkṣit, a king himself, so the address “rājan” keeps the instruction personal within the dynastic history being recounted.

What practical lesson can modern readers take from Alarka’s long youthful rule?

Worldly power and longevity can be remarkable, yet Bhagavatam’s broader message is to use whatever time, strength, and position one has in dharma and devotion rather than mere enjoyment.