Shloka 47
Āśā-prabhava (आशाप्रभव) — On the Rise and Power of Hope/Expectation
Sumitra Itihāsa Begins
तमपृच्छन्महाकायं प्रह्ाद: को भवानिति । प्रत्याहतं तु शीलो$स्मि त्यक्तो गच्छाम्यहं त्वया
tam apṛcchan mahākāyaṃ prahlādaḥ ko bhavān iti | pratyāha taṃ tu śīlo 'smi tyakto gacchāmy ahaṃ tvayā ||
Prahlāda preguntó al ser de cuerpo gigantesco: «¿Quién eres?» El otro respondió: «Soy Śīla (la buena conducta). Puesto que me has abandonado, me marcho de tu lado».
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śīla (good conduct) is portrayed as a living companion of a person: when one abandons ethical discipline and character, virtue itself ‘departs,’ implying that inner moral qualities are sustained only through continued commitment and practice.
Prahlāda encounters a gigantic figure and asks his identity. The figure reveals himself to be Śīla—good conduct—and declares that he is leaving because Prahlāda has given him up, dramatizing the loss of virtue as an actual separation.