Shloka 23

Devanagari script

स्वयमिन्द्रो भविष्यामि जीवयिष्यामि च प्रजा: । “अथवा यदि इन्द्र इच्छानुसार जल बरसानेके लिये की हुई मेरी प्रार्थना पूर्ण नहीं करेंगे तो मैं स्वयं इन्द्र हो जाऊँगा और समस्त प्रजाके जीवनकी रक्षा करूँगा ।। यो यदाहारजातश्न स तथैव भविष्यति

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

svayam indro bhaviṣyāmi jīvayiṣyāmi ca prajāḥ |

athavā yadi indra icchānusāraṃ jala-barsaṇāya kṛtāṃ mama prārthanāṃ pūrṇaṃ na kariṣyati, tato 'haṃ svayam indro bhaviṣyāmi sarva-prajānāṃ jīvana-rakṣāṃ kariṣyāmi ||

yo yad āhāra-jāta-aśnāti sa tathaiva bhaviṣyati ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “I myself will become Indra, and I will sustain the people. Or, if Indra does not fulfill my prayer—made so that rain may fall according to need—then I will myself become Indra and protect the life of all creatures. For a being becomes in accordance with the kind of food it consumes.”

Word by Word

स्वयम्oneself

इन्द्रःIndra

भविष्यामिI shall become

जीवयिष्यामिI shall cause to live / revive

चand

प्रजाःcreatures / subjects / people

यःwho (he who)

यत्whatever (that which)

आहारजातश्नःeating what is produced from food / eating food-born (i.e., eating a certain kind of food)

सःhe

तथाthus / in that manner

एवindeed / just

भविष्यतिwill become / will be

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Indra

prajāḥ (the people/creatures)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage links righteous responsibility with cosmic welfare: a leader must ensure the survival of beings (through rain/prosperity) and is accountable even if divine help fails. It also states a moral-physical principle: one’s condition and character are shaped by what one consumes (āhāra), implying ethical discipline through regulated intake.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker reports a forceful resolve: if Indra does not grant rain as requested, the protagonist vows to assume Indra’s role to safeguard all creatures’ lives. The concluding maxim about becoming like one’s food underscores the ethical rationale for sustaining life and maintaining purity and order.