Shloka 92

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

Chapter 29

Devanagari script

हैरण्यान्‌ योजनोत्सेधानायतान्‌ दशयोजनम्‌ | अतिरिक्तान द्विजातिभ्यो व्यभजंस्त्वितरे जना:

Transliteration

hairaṇyān yojanotsedhān āyatān daśa-yojanam | atiriktān dvijātibhyo vyabhajaṁs tv itare janāḥ ||

Translation

বায়ু বললেন—তিনি ‘রোহিত’ নামে বহু স্বর্ণনির্মিত মাছ প্রস্তুত করিয়েছিলেন—দশ যোজন দীর্ঘ ও এক যোজন উচ্চ—এবং সেগুলি দ্বিজদের (ব্রাহ্মণদের) দান করেছিলেন। ব্রাহ্মণরা নিয়ে যাওয়ার পর যা অবশিষ্ট রইল, তা অন্য লোকেরা ভাগ করে নিল।

Word by Word

• {'hairaṇyān': 'made of gold

• golden', 'yojanotsedhān': 'having a height (utsedha) of one yojana

• yojana-high', 'āyatān': 'extended

• of length', 'daśa-yojanam': 'ten yojanas (in measure), i.e., ten yojanas long', 'atiriktān': 'left over

• surplus', 'dvijātibhyaḥ': 'to the twice-born (especially Brāhmaṇas)

• dative plural', 'vyabhajan': 'they distributed

• they apportioned', 'tu': 'but

• indeed (contrast/sequence marker)', 'itare janāḥ': 'other people

• the rest of the populace', 'rohita': 'Rohita (a fish-name

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Vāyudeva)
• Brāhmaṇas (dvija)
• Rohita fish (golden fish objects)
• Aśvamedha sacrifice
• Rājasūya sacrifice
• other people (itare janāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the dharmic ideal of lavish, prioritized giving: wealth gained or displayed through royal sacrifices is directed first toward the twice-born (especially Brāhmaṇas) as recipients of dāna, and only what remains is shared among others—reflecting a traditional hierarchy of charitable distribution and the linkage of kingship, yajña, and generosity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu describes a past act of extraordinary royal munificence: after completing major imperial sacrifices (Aśvamedha and Rājasūya), golden fish called Rohita—enormous in size by yojana-measure—were donated to Brāhmaṇas; any surplus after their taking was then divided among the rest of the people.