Shloka 16

Pitāmaha-sabhā-varṇana & Hariścandra-māhātmya

Description of Brahmā’s Assembly and the Eminence of Hariścandra

Devanagari script

अति चन्द्र च सूर्य च शिखिनं च स्वयम्प्रभा । दीप्यते नाकपृष्ठस्था भर्त्सयन्तीव भास्करम्‌,अनन्त प्रभावाले नाना प्रकारके प्रकाशमान दिव्य पदार्थोद्वारा अग्नि, चन्द्रमा और सूर्यसे भी अधिक स्वयं ही प्रकाशित होनेवाली वह सभा अपने तेजसे सूर्यमण्डलको तिरस्कृत करती हुई-सी स्वर्गसे भी ऊपर स्थित हुई प्रकाशित हो रही है

Transliteration

ati candraṃ ca sūryaṃ ca śikhinaṃ ca svayaṃprabhā | dīpyate nākapṛṣṭhasthā bhartsayantīva bhāskaram ||

Translation

Nārada said: That celestial hall, self-luminous and blazing more than fire, the moon, and the sun, shone as though it were scorning the very orb of the Sun. Situated above the heavenly regions, it radiated with countless wondrous lights—an image of superhuman splendor that humbles ordinary power and display.

Word by Word

• {'ati': 'exceedingly, beyond', 'candra': 'the Moon', 'sūrya': 'the Sun', 'śikhin': 'fire (lit. ‘crested’, i.e., flame-bearing)

• also ‘peacock’ in other contexts', 'svayaṃprabhā': 'self-luminous, shining by its own radiance', 'dīpyate': 'blazes, shines forth', 'nāka': 'heaven, celestial world', 'pṛṣṭha': 'surface, back

• hence ‘upper region’', 'nākapṛṣṭhasthā': 'standing/located on (or above) the heights of heaven', 'bhartsayantī iva': 'as if censuring/scorning, as though rebuking', 'bhāskara': 'the Sun (as ‘maker of light’)'}

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• the celestial assembly hall (sabhā)
• Agni (fire)
• Candra (Moon)
• Sūrya/Bhāskara (Sun)
• Nāka (heaven)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Extraordinary brilliance and status can dazzle the mind, but the verse implicitly cautions that worldly or even celestial splendor is not the same as dharma; it can foster pride and rivalry if treated as the highest good.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is describing the astonishing radiance of the (divinely fashioned) assembly hall—so luminous that it seems to outshine and ‘rebuke’ the sun—setting the tone of marvel and grandeur surrounding the royal court and its display of power.