Shloka 4

Adhyāya 223: Nāradasya Guṇa-kathana

Catalogue of Nārada’s Virtues

Devanagari script

यस्य सम ददतो वित्तं न कदाचन हीयते । तं॑ बलिं नाधिगच्छामि ब्रद्म॒ुन्नाचक्ष्व मे बलिम्‌,“ब्रह्मम! जिसके दान देते समय उसके धनका भण्डार कभी खाली नहीं होता था, उस राजा बलिको मैं ढूँढ़नेपर भी नहीं पा रहा हूँ। आप मुझे बलिका पता बताइये

Transliteration

yasya sama dadato vittaṃ na kadācana hīyate | taṃ baliṃ nādhigacchāmi brahman ācakṣva me balim ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “That king Bali—whose treasury, though he gave wealth in equal measure, never diminished—I cannot find him, even after searching. O Brahman, tell me where Bali is.”

Word by Word

• {'yasya': 'of whom

• whose', 'sama': 'equally

• in an even manner', 'dadato': 'while giving

• of one who gives (genitive of present participle)', 'vittam': 'wealth

• treasure', 'na': 'not', 'kadācana': 'ever

• at any time', 'hīyate': 'diminishes

• becomes less', 'tam': 'that (him)', 'balim': 'Bali (name of a king)', 'na adhigacchāmi': 'I do not reach/find

• I cannot locate', 'brahman': 'O Brahman

• O learned priest/sage (vocative)', 'ācakṣva': 'tell

• point out (imperative)', 'me': 'to me

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bali
• Brahman (a priest/sage addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ideal of impartial generosity (sama-dāna) and the paradoxical spiritual principle that righteous giving does not truly impoverish the giver; it points toward the karmic and ethical stature of a king famed for inexhaustible charity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses a Brahman interlocutor, expressing that he cannot locate the renowned donor-king Bali despite searching, and asks the Brahman to reveal Bali’s whereabouts—implying an inquiry into Bali’s posthumous state or the destination earned by his deeds.