Shloka 68
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
इलोपहूतयोगेन हरे भागं क्रतुष्वहम् । वर्णश्न मे हरि: श्रेष्ठस्तस्माद्धरिरहं स्मृत:
ilopahūtayogena hare bhāgaṃ kratuṣv aham | varṇaś ca me hariḥ śreṣṭhas tasmād dharir ahaṃ smṛtaḥ ||
Indra explains why he is called “Hari”: when he is invoked in sacrifices by the formula beginning with “ilopahūtā…”, he accepts the portion of the oblation allotted to him; and since his own bodily hue is also hari—greenish-dark, blackish—he is therefore remembered by the name “Hari.”
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
Educational Q&A
Divine names are not arbitrary: they can arise from a deity’s ritual role (accepting the sacrificial share) and from symbolic attributes (hari-colored complexion). The verse ties reverence to dharmic ritual order and meaningful nomenclature.
Indra is explaining the basis for the epithet “Hari,” stating that when invoked by a specific sacrificial formula he receives his portion, and that his own color is hari; hence he is remembered by that name.