Shloka 8
प्रलय-प्रक्रिया (Pralaya Process) — Guṇa-Withdrawal and Pratisaṃcara
लक्ष्मी बोली--मुझे न तो विरोचन जानता है और न उसका पुत्र यह बलि। लोग मुझे दुःसहा कहते हैं और कुछ लोग मुझे विधित्साके नामसे भी जानते हैं ।।
lakṣmī uvāca—māṃ na virocanas jānāti na ca tasya putro baliḥ | lokā māṃ duḥsahāṃ vadanti kecid vidhi-tsekā iti nāmnāpi jānanti || bhūtir lakṣmīti mām āhuḥ śrīr ity eva ca vāsava | tvaṃ māṃ śakra na jānīṣe sarve devā na māṃ viduḥ ||
Lakṣmī said: “Neither Virocana knows me, nor his son Bali. People call me ‘Hard to endure,’ and some also know me by the name ‘Vidhitsakā’. Men who truly understand speak of me as Bhūti (prosperity), Lakṣmī (good fortune), and Śrī (splendour), O Vāsava. Yet you, O Śakra, do not know me—and indeed all the gods fail to comprehend me.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prosperity (Lakṣmī/Śrī) is subtle and not fully grasped even by powerful beings; it is difficult to ‘endure’ because it can intoxicate, destabilize, and shift. Ethical maturity requires humility and discernment in relation to wealth, status, and success.
Lakṣmī addresses Indra (Śakra/Vāsava) and declares that neither Asura figures like Virocana and Bali nor even the gods truly understand her nature. She lists her names—Bhūti, Lakṣmī, Śrī—and emphasizes her elusive, overpowering character.