Shloka 48

Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality

Devanagari script

धूमकेतु: शिखी च त्वं पापहानिलसम्भव: । सर्वप्राणिषु नित्यस्थ: सत्येन विपुनीहि माम्‌

Transliteration

dhūmaketuḥ śikhī ca tvaṁ pāpahānila-sambhavaḥ | sarva-prāṇiṣu nitya-sthaḥ satyena vipunīhi mām, deva ||

Translation

Sahadeva prays: “O divine one, whose banner bears the sign of a comet and who is crowned with a flame-like crest—manifested through the wind and the destroyer of sin—you abide eternally within all living beings. By the power of your truth, purify me.”

Word by Word

• {'dhūmaketuḥ': '‘smoke-bannered’

• also an epithet indicating a portent-like emblem', 'śikhī': 'crested

• one who bears a śikhā/crest', 'tvaṁ': 'you', 'pāpa-hā': 'destroyer/remover of sin', 'anila-sambhavaḥ': 'born of/manifested from wind (anila)', 'sarva-prāṇiṣu': 'in all living beings', 'nitya-sthaḥ': 'ever-abiding, permanently present', 'satyena': 'by truth

• by the power/force of truthfulness', 'vipunīhi': 'purify, cleanse thoroughly (imperative)', 'mām': 'me', 'deva': 'O god

Speaker

सहदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sahadeva
• Deva (invoked deity)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents truth (satya) as a purifying spiritual force and affirms an indwelling divine presence within all beings; ethical self-cleansing is sought through devotion grounded in truth.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sahadeva addresses a deity with reverential epithets and asks to be purified, invoking the deity’s sin-destroying nature and omnipresence within all creatures.