Shloka 14

Jājali–Tulādhāra-saṃvāda: Yajña, Vṛtti, and Ātma-tīrtha (जाजलि-तुलाधार-संवादः)

Devanagari script

न हान्तरमभूत्‌ किज्चित्‌ क्वचिज्जन्तुभिरच्युत । निरुच्छवासमिवोजन्नद्ध त्रलोक्यमभवन्नूप

Transliteration

na hāntaram abhūt kiñcit kvacij jantubhir acsuta | nirucchvāsam ivojjanaddha trilokyam abhavannūpa ||

Translation

Nārada dijo: «Oh Acyuta—oh rey que jamás se aparta del dharma—en aquel tiempo no quedó en parte alguna ni el más leve espacio libre que no estuviera colmado de seres vivos. Los tres mundos quedaron como obstruidos; era como si la gente no pudiera siquiera respirar: todos se sentían ahogados».

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'na', 'definition': 'not

• no'}, {'term': 'hāntaram (antara)', 'definition': 'gap, interval, open space'}, {'term': 'abhūt', 'definition': 'became

• existed (aorist of √bhū)'}, {'term': 'kiñcit', 'definition': 'anything

• even a little'}, {'term': 'kvacit', 'definition': 'anywhere

• in any place'}, {'term': 'jantubhiḥ', 'definition': 'by living beings/creatures (instrumental plural of jantu)'}, {'term': 'acyuta', 'definition': '‘the infallible/unchanging one’

• an epithet used as an address (also a divine epithet)'}, {'term': 'nir-ucchvāsam', 'definition': 'without breathing

• unable to exhale/inhale'}, {'term': 'iva', 'definition': 'as if

• like'}, {'term': 'trilokyam', 'definition': 'the three worlds (earth, mid-region, heaven)'}, {'term': 'abhavat', 'definition': 'became (imperfect/aorist sense of √bhū)'}, {'term': 'nūpa (nṛpa)', 'definition': 'king (address to the ruler)'}, {'term': 'dharma', 'definition': 'righteous order

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Acyuta (as an epithet used in address)
• Nṛpa (the king, addressee)
• Triloka (the three worlds)
• Jantu (living beings/creatures)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how imbalance in the world—here portrayed as overwhelming congestion of beings—can suffocate life itself, implicitly reminding a dharma-abiding ruler to preserve order and livability for all creatures.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada describes a time when creatures filled every place so completely that the three worlds seemed obstructed, leaving beings virtually unable to breathe—an image of extreme crowding and distress.