Shloka 21

Śoka-śamana: Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation and Nārada’s Exempla to Sṛñjaya

Chapter 29

Devanagari script

यस्मिन्‌ प्रशासति महीं नृपतौ राजसत्तम | अकृष्टपच्या पृथिवी विबभौ चैत्यमालिनी

Transliteration

yasmin praśāsati mahīṁ nṛpatau rājasattama | akṛṣṭapacyā pṛthivī vibabhau caityamālinī ||

Translation

যখন সেই রাজশ্রেষ্ঠ নৃপতি পৃথিবী শাসন করতেন, তখন ভূমি না চাষ করেও শস্য দিত; আর সর্বত্র তীর্থ-দেবালয়ের মালার মতো শোভা ছড়িয়ে পৃথিবী দীপ্তিমান ছিল।

Word by Word

• यस्मिन्: in which (time/condition)
• यस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• प्रशासति: rules/governs
• Type: Verb
• Root: शास्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• महीम्: the earth
• महीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• नृपतौ: when the king (was ruling)
• नृपतौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृपति
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• राजसत्तम: O best of kings
• Type: Noun (vocative used as address)
• Root: राजसत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• अकृष्टपच्या: yielding crops without ploughing/sowing
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अकृष्टपच्या
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• पृथिवी: the earth
• पृथिवी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• विबभौ: shone/appeared splendid
• Type: Verb
• Root: भा
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• चैत्य-मालिनी: garlanded with shrines/temples
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चैत्य-मालिनी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वायुदेव (Vāyu)
• नृपतिः (the king)
• पृथिवी/मही (the Earth)
• चैत्यानि (shrines/temples)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links righteous kingship (rājadharma) with the well-being of the realm: when a king governs justly, nature and society flourish—symbolized by spontaneous fertility and a landscape rich in sacred institutions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu describes an ideal period under an exemplary ruler: the earth produces abundantly without cultivation, and the world appears ornamented with many shrines, highlighting both material prosperity and religious-cultural vitality.