Shloka 13

ययातिदौहित्रपुण्यसमुच्चयः | Yayāti and the Grandsons’ Consolidation of Merit

Devanagari script

श्रीमत्स्ववभृथाग्रयेषु चतुर्षु प्रतिबन्धुषु । मध्ये निपतितो राजा लोकपालोपमेषु स:

Transliteration

śrīmatsvavabhṛthāgrayeṣu caturṣu pratibandhuṣu | madhye nipatito rājā lokapālopameṣu saḥ |

Translation

Nārada said: In the splendid foremost rites of the avabhṛtha bath, among his four closely related kinsmen—each comparable in majesty to the guardians of the worlds—the king fell down in their very midst. The scene underscores how even royal brilliance and ritual purity do not exempt one from the sudden reversals that follow when merit is exhausted and destiny turns.

Word by Word

• {'śrīmat': 'splendid, illustrious, endowed with prosperity', 'sva-avabhṛtha': 'one’s own avabhṛtha (the concluding ceremonial bath of a soma-sacrifice)', 'agrayeṣu': 'in the foremost/excellent (occasions/places)

• locative plural', 'caturṣu': 'among four

• locative plural', 'pratibandhuṣu': 'among close kinsmen/relations (those bound by kinship)', 'madhye': 'in the middle, amidst', 'nipatitaḥ': 'fallen down, collapsed', 'rājā': 'the king', 'lokapāla-upameṣu': 'among those comparable to the Lokapālas (world-guardians)

• i.e., exceedingly radiant and powerful', 'saḥ': 'he'}

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• the king (rājā)
• Lokapālas (world-guardians)
• avabhṛtha (concluding ritual bath)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of worldly status: even a king purified by great rites can suddenly fall. It points to the ethical reflection that power and ritual merit are not permanent safeguards; one must cultivate steadiness in dharma beyond external splendor.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada describes a dramatic moment during an exalted avabhṛtha context: the king collapses in the midst of four close relatives who are portrayed as radiant like the Lokapālas, emphasizing the grandeur of the setting and the shock of the king’s fall.