Shloka 18

Devanagari script

महेन्द्रो वारणस्कन्धाद् अवतीर्य त्वरान्वितः प्रसादयाम् आस मुनिं दुर्वाससम् अकल्मषम्

Transliteration

mahendro vāraṇaskandhād avatīrya tvarānvitaḥ prasādayām āsa muniṃ durvāsasam akalmaṣam

Translation

Mahendra—Indra himself—quickly descended from the back of his elephant and, in urgent haste, sought to appease the stainless sage Durvāsā.

Word by Word

• महेन्द्रः: Mahendra (Indra)
• महेन्द्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• वारण-स्कन्धात्: from the elephant’s back/shoulder
• वारण-स्कन्धात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारण (प्रातिपदिक) + स्कन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘वारणस्य स्कन्धः’), पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अवतीर्य: having descended
• अवतीर्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-तॄ (धातु) + ल्यप् (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), ‘having descended’

• त्वरा-अन्वितः: endowed with haste
• त्वरा-अन्वितः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वरा (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्वित (अन्वि धातु + क्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष: ‘त्वरया अन्वितः’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (of mahendraḥ)

• प्रसादयाम्: (he) sought to propitiate / propitiated
• प्रसादयाम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√सद् (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect) परस्मैपद-पर्याय/परिप्रयोगे; ‘प्रसादयाम्’ = उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular), विधिलिङ्-छायानुगतं लिट्-रूपम् (periphrastic perfect base)

• आस: was/did (auxiliary)
• आस: Kriya (Auxiliary/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); सहायक-क्रिया (auxiliary with प्रसादयाम्)

• मुनिम्: the sage
• मुनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• दुर्वाससम्: Durvāsas
• दुर्वाससम्: Karma (Apposition to muniṃ/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्वासस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अकल्मषम्: spotless/pure
• अकल्मषम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-कल्मष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (of muniṃ/durvāsasam)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How Indra tried to avert the curse by appeasing Durvāsā

Teaching: Historical

Quality: compassionate

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: True refuge is taken through humility and seeking the saint’s prasāda when one has erred.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: When you make a mistake, respond quickly with sincere apology and corrective action rather than defensiveness.

Vishishtadvaita: Prasāda (grace) mediated through the bhāgavata/ṛṣi is efficacious; surrender (śaraṇāgati) begins with humility.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Mahendra)
• Airāvata (implied by 'elephant')
• Sage Durvāsā

FAQs

What is the significance of Indra descending from his elephant in the Vishnu Purana?

It signals humility and urgency—royal power yields before ascetic authority—highlighting that spiritual merit (tapas) governs cosmic order more decisively than sovereignty.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the power of sages like Durvāsā?

Through narrative causality: a rishi’s purity and tapas make their favor or displeasure a turning point for devas and kings alike, enforcing dharma across realms.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when devas act, the Purana frames outcomes within a higher moral-cosmic governance ultimately grounded in Vishnu’s supreme ordering of the universe.