Shloka 19
वसिष्ठ-प्रशंसा
Vasiṣṭha as Purohita: Ascetic Mastery and Royal Counsel
स तदन्नमुपादाय गतो बकवनं प्रति । तेन नूनं भवेदेतत् कर्म लोकहितं कृतम्,“वे वह भोजन-सामग्री लेकर बकासुरके वनकी ओर गये। अवश्य उन्होंने ही यह लोक- हितकारी कर्म किया होगा”
sa tad annam upādāya gato bakavanaṃ prati | tena nūnaṃ bhaved etat karma lokahitaṃ kṛtam ||
Er nahm jene Speise an sich und ging dem Wald Bakas entgegen. Gewiss war es durch ihn, dass diese Tat — zum Wohl des Volkes unternommen — vollbracht wurde.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights lokahita (public welfare) as an ethical measure of action: a deed is praised when it protects the community and relieves collective suffering, even when it requires personal risk.
The narrator states that someone took the prepared food provisions and proceeded toward Bakāsura’s forest; the line implies that this person is the agent who carried out the community-benefiting act connected with confronting the threat of Baka.