Shloka 16

The Lakṣmī–Nārāyaṇa Vow Narrative

Puṣya Thursday Observance and the Ethics of Fortune

Devanagari script

वृद्धोवाच । शृणु पोष्ये महाराज पत्न्या दंडकरे यदा । श्रोतुं कौतूहलं तेऽस्ति मदागमनकारणम्

Transliteration

vṛddhovāca | śṛṇu poṣye mahārāja patnyā daṃḍakare yadā | śrotuṃ kautūhalaṃ te'sti madāgamanakāraṇam

Translation

قال الشيخ: «اسمع، أيها المَهاراجا العزيز. حين كانت زوجتك في غابة دندك (Daṇḍakāraṇya)، رغبتَ أن تسمع سبب قدومي».

Word by Word

• vṛddhaḥ: the old man
• vṛddhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु) (वच्)
• Form: Liṭ lakāra (लिट्, Perfect), Prathama puruṣa (3rd/प्रथम), Ekavacana (एकवचन); parasmaipada

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु) (श्रु)
• Form: Loṭ lakāra (लोट्, Imperative), Madhyama puruṣa (2nd/मध्यम), Ekavacana (एकवचन); parasmaipada

• poṣye: O dear one (nurtured one)
• poṣye: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: poṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन), Ekavacana (एकवचन); address meaning 'O nurtured one/son'

• mahā-rāja: O great king
• mahā-rāja: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन), Ekavacana (एकवचन); कर्मधारयः

• patnyā: by/with the wife
• patnyā: Karaṇa/Hetu (करण/हेतु) (contextual: by/through the wife)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patnī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana (एकवचन)

• daṇḍa-kare: in/with the staff-bearer (Daṇḍakara, name/title)
• daṇḍa-kare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण) (contextual locus: in/with the staff-bearer)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Saptamī vibhakti (7th/सप्तमी), Ekavacana (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (daṇḍasya karaḥ = staff-bearer/one holding a staff)

• yadā: when
• yadā: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; temporal conjunction/adverb (कालवाचक)

• śrotum: to hear
• śrotum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु) (श्रु) + tumun (तुमुन्)
• Form: Infinitive (तुमुनन्त), purpose sense

• kautūhalam: curiosity
• kautūhalam: Karta (कर्ता) (with asti)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kautūhala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन)

• te: your
• te: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक) (yuṣmad)
• Form: Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana (एकवचन); enclitic; possessive sense

• asti: is
• asti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु) (अस्)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (लट्, Present), Prathama puruṣa (3rd/प्रथम), Ekavacana (एकवचन); parasmaipada

• mat-āgamana-kāraṇam: the reason for my coming
• mat-āgamana-kāraṇam: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate-noun with asti, appositional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mat (asmad-pronominal base) + āgamana (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (mama āgamanasya kāraṇam = cause of my coming)

Speaker

Vṛddha (the elder)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: forest

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: vṛddhovāca → vṛddhaḥ + uvāca. te'sti → te + asti. madāgamanakāraṇam → mat-āgamana-kāraṇam (mat → mad before vowel).

Characters & Entities

• Mahārāja (king)
• Patnī (wife)
• Daṇḍakāraṇya

FAQs

Who is speaking in this verse and to whom?

An elder (vṛddha) is speaking to a great king (mahārāja), addressing him affectionately as “poṣya” (cherished/nurtured one).

What place is mentioned and why is it significant?

Daṇḍakāraṇya is mentioned as the setting connected with the king’s wife; it often functions in Purāṇic literature as a forest-region backdrop for pivotal events and narrative turns.

What is the immediate narrative purpose of this line?

It introduces an explanation: the elder is about to tell the king the cause of his arrival, responding to the king’s curiosity.