Shloka 14

Āstīka-stuti at Janamejaya’s Sacrifice (आस्तीकस्तुतिः / यज्ञप्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

आचख्यौ स च विश्रान्तो राज्ञ: सर्वमशेषत: । शप्तोडसि मम पुत्रेण यत्तो भव महीपते,तब मुनिश्रेष्ठ शमीकने तुम्हारे पिताके पास अपने शिष्य गौरमुखको भेजा, जो सुशील और गुणवान्‌ था। उसने विश्राम कर लेनेपर राजासे सब बातें बतायीं और महर्षिका संदेश इस प्रकार सुनाया--“'भूपाल! मेरे पुत्रने तुम्हें शाप दे दिया है; अतः सावधान हो जाओ

Transliteration

ācakhyau sa ca viśrānto rājñaḥ sarvam aśeṣataḥ | śapto ’si mama putreṇa yatto bhava mahīpate ||

Translation

Nachdem er sich ausgeruht hatte, berichtete er dem König alles vollständig, ohne etwas auszulassen. Dann überbrachte er die Botschaft des Weisen: „O Herrscher der Erde, mein Sohn hat dich verflucht; darum sei wachsam und bleibe gefasst.“

Word by Word

• {'ācakhyau': 'he related, he reported (perfect of √khyā with ā-)', 'sa': 'he', 'ca': 'and', 'viśrāntaḥ': 'rested, having taken rest', 'rājñaḥ': 'to/of the king', 'sarvam': 'everything', 'aśeṣataḥ': 'without remainder, completely', 'śaptaḥ asi (śapto ’si)': 'you have been cursed', 'mama': 'my', 'putreṇa': 'by (my) son', 'yattaḥ (yattaḥ bhava)': 'alert, vigilant

• be attentive', 'bhava': 'be (imperative)', 'mahīpate': 'O lord of the earth, O king'}

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• King (Parikshit, implied by context)
• Shamika (Śamīka, implied by context)
• Shamika’s son (Śṛṅgin, implied by context)
• Gauramukha (messenger/disciple, per accompanying prose)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Words and actions toward the spiritually disciplined carry moral consequences; when harm has already been set in motion (a curse), the ethical response is vigilance, restraint, and responsibility rather than escalation.

What is happening in the narrative?

A messenger, after resting, fully informs the king and conveys the sage’s warning that the king has been cursed by the sage’s son, urging the king to remain alert in light of the impending consequence.