Shloka 29
Āśā-prabhava (आशाप्रभव) — On the Rise and Power of Hope/Expectation
Sumitra Itihāsa Begins
प्रह्मदस्त्वब्रवीद् विप्रं क्षणो नास्ति द्विजर्षभ । त्रैलोक्यराज्यसक्तस्य ततो नोपदिशामि ते
prahmadas tv abravīd vipraṁ kṣaṇo nāsti dvijarṣabha | trailokya-rājya-saktasya tato nopadiśāmi te ||
Prahlāda dit au brāhmane : « Ô le meilleur des deux-fois-nés, je n’ai pas même un instant. Absorbé par l’administration de la souveraineté sur les trois mondes, je ne puis donc t’instruire. »
घतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment to power and administrative burdens can crowd out higher instruction and spiritual counsel; it implicitly warns that even lofty sovereignty is a distraction if it leaves no time for dharma-teaching and inner cultivation.
A Brahmin approaches Prahmada seeking instruction, but Prahmada declines, stating he is fully occupied with the governance of the three worlds and lacks even a moment to offer counsel.