Shloka 45

Devanagari script

तामुवाच महाराज भूमिं भूमिपति: प्रभु: । प्रभव: सर्वभूतानामीश: शम्भु: प्रजापति:,महाराज! जो इस भूमिके पालक और प्रभु हैं, सबकी उत्पत्तिके कारण तथा समस्त प्राणियोंके अधीश्वर हैं, वे कल्याणमय प्रजापति ब्रह्माजी उस समय भूमिसे इस प्रकार बोले

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | tām uvāca mahārāja bhūmiṃ bhūmipatiḥ prabhuḥ | prabhavaḥ sarvabhūtānām īśaḥ śambhuḥ prajāpatiḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: O King, then the Lord of the earth—Prajāpati, auspicious Śambhu, the sovereign and source of all beings—addressed the Earth in these words.

Word by Word

ताम्her

उवाचsaid/spoke

महाराजःthe great king

भूमिम्the earth

भूमिपतिःlord of the earth

प्रभुःmaster, sovereign

प्रभवःsource, origin

सर्वभूतानाम्of all beings

ईशःlord

शम्भुःŚambhu (auspicious one)

प्रजापतिःPrajāpati, lord of creatures

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mahārāja (the addressed king, i.e., Janamejaya in the frame narrative)

Bhūmi (Earth, personified)

Bhūmipati (Lord of the Earth)

Prajāpati

Śambhu

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Authority is presented as dharmic stewardship: the one called 'lord of the earth' is simultaneously the source and overseer of all beings, implying responsibility for protection and welfare rather than mere possession.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana tells the king that a supreme progenitor figure—described with titles like Bhūmipati, Prabhu, Prabhava, Īśa, Śambhu, and Prajāpati—addresses the personified Earth, setting up a divine dialogue about the condition and governance of the world.