Shloka 28
पात्रलक्षण-परिक्षा (Pātra-Lakṣaṇa Parīkṣā) — Criteria for a Worthy Recipient
तेषामेव प्रभावेण सहस्ननयनो हासौ । शतक्रतु: समभवत् पश्य माधव यादृशम्,माधव! देखिये, ब्राह्मणोंका कैसा प्रभाव है, उन्होंने चन्द्रमामें कलंक लगा दिया, समुद्रका पानी खारा बना दिया तथा देवराज इन्द्रके शरीरमें एक हजार भगके चिह्न उत्पन्न कर दिये और फिर उन्हींके प्रभावसे वे भग नेत्रके रूपमें परिणत हो गये; जिनके कारण शतक्रतु इन्द्र 'सहस्राक्ष' नामसे प्रसिद्ध हुए
teṣām eva prabhāveṇa sahasranayano hy asau | śatakratuḥ samabhavat paśya mādhava yādṛśam ||
“By the sheer power of those brāhmaṇas, this Indra became ‘the thousand-eyed.’ Behold, O Mādhava, what their potency can accomplish: from the marks that arose upon his body through their influence, he came to be known as Sahasrākṣa (the Thousand-eyed) and Śatakratu (the performer of a hundred sacrifices).”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and social idea that brāhmaṇas/ascetics, through tapas and spiritual authority (prabhāva), can decisively shape outcomes—even for gods—so one should treat such power with reverence and caution.
Vāyudeva points to Indra’s epithet ‘Sahasrākṣa’ and explains it as an effect of the brāhmaṇas’ influence: their potency caused distinctive marks that became symbolically reinterpreted as ‘eyes,’ establishing Indra’s famed designation.