Shloka 47

Pitāmaha-sabhā-varṇana & Hariścandra-māhātmya

Description of Brahmā’s Assembly and the Eminence of Hariścandra

Devanagari script

सोमपा एकशज्जश्व चतुर्वेदा: कलास्तथा । एते चतुर्षु वर्णेषु पूज्यन्ते पितरो नृप

Transliteration

somapā ekaśajjaśva caturvedāḥ kalās tathā | ete caturṣu varṇeṣu pūjyante pitaro nṛpa ||

Translation

Nārada said: “O king, the Soma-sacrificers, those who perform the Ekāśajja and Aśva rites, the knowers of the four Vedas, and those skilled in the arts—among all the four social orders, these are the ones through whom the Pitṛs (ancestral spirits) are especially honored and duly worshipped.”

Word by Word

• सोमपाः: Soma-drinkers (a class of ancestors/ritualists)
• सोमपाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोमप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• एकशत्: one hundred
• एकशत्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकशत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• यश्व: Yashva (a named class/person; reading uncertain)
• यश्व: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्वेदाः: the four Vedas / those versed in the four Vedas
• चतुर्वेदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• कलाः: arts/branches (of knowledge)
• कलाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: also/likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एते: these
• एते: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• चतुर्षु: in (the) four
• चतुर्षु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Plural

• वर्णेषु: in the social classes (varṇas)
• वर्णेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• पूज्यन्ते: are worshipped/are honored
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Passive (Ātmanepada-form)

• पितरः: the ancestors (Pitṛs)
• पितरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• the four varṇas
• Soma
• the four Vedas
• Ekāśajja rite
• Aśva rite (Aśvamedha-related)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links social and religious responsibility to honoring the ancestors: those devoted to Vedic learning, major sacrifices, and cultivated disciplines become key supports for Pitṛ-worship across all four varṇas, emphasizing continuity of tradition and duty to forebears.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada addresses a king and describes which kinds of people are especially revered in society because their conduct—sacrifice, Vedic mastery, and disciplined skills—upholds rites through which the ancestors are honored.