Shloka 29
Āśā-prabhava (आशाप्रभव) — On the Rise and Power of Hope/Expectation
Sumitra Itihāsa Begins
प्रह्मदस्त्वब्रवीद् विप्रं क्षणो नास्ति द्विजर्षभ । त्रैलोक्यराज्यसक्तस्य ततो नोपदिशामि ते,प्रह्नलादने ब्राह्मगसे कहा-- द्विजश्रेष्ठ! त्रिलोकीके राज्यकी व्यवस्थामें व्यस्त रहनेके कारण मेरे पास समय नहीं है, अतः मैं आपको उपदेश नहीं दे सकूँगा”
prahmadas tv abravīd vipraṁ kṣaṇo nāsti dvijarṣabha | trailokya-rājya-saktasya tato nopadiśāmi te ||
Prahlāda said to the brāhmaṇa: “O best of the twice-born, I do not have even a moment. Absorbed in administering sovereignty over the three worlds, I therefore cannot instruct you.”
घतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment to power and administrative burdens can crowd out higher instruction and spiritual counsel; it implicitly warns that even lofty sovereignty is a distraction if it leaves no time for dharma-teaching and inner cultivation.
A Brahmin approaches Prahmada seeking instruction, but Prahmada declines, stating he is fully occupied with the governance of the three worlds and lacks even a moment to offer counsel.