Shloka 11

धनंजयस्य आश्वासनम्

Dhanaṃjaya’s Reassurance and the Opening Engagement

Devanagari script

अग्नेरीशस्य सोमस्य वरुणस्य प्रजापते: । तथा धातुर्विधातुश्च कुबेरस्थ यमस्य च

Transliteration

agner īśasya somasya varuṇasya prajāpateḥ | tathā dhātur vidhātuś ca kuberasya yamasya ca ||

Translation

વૈશમ્પાયન બોલ્યા— અગ્નિ, ઈશ, સોમ, વરુણ, પ્રજાપતિ, ધાતા, વિધાતા, કુબેર અને યમ—એ સૌનાં વિમાનો આકાશના વિવિધ પ્રદેશોમાં અલગ-અલગ ઝળહળતાં દેખાતાં હતાં; દરેક પોતપોતાના માપ અને વિસ્તરણ પ્રમાણે પ્રકાશિત હતું।

Word by Word

• {'agner (agni)': 'of Agni (fire-god)', 'īśasya (īśa)': 'of Īśa (a name of Śiva

• ‘the Lord’)', 'somasya (soma)': 'of Soma (moon-god

• also the Soma deity)', 'varuṇasya (varuṇa)': 'of Varuṇa (lord of waters

• upholder of ṛta/order)', 'prajāpateḥ (prajāpati)': 'of Prajāpati (lord of creatures

• progenitor)', 'tathā': 'and likewise

• in the same manner', 'dhātuḥ (dhātṛ)': 'of Dhātṛ (the ‘supporter/creator’

• a cosmic deity)', 'vidhātuḥ (vidhātṛ)': 'of Vidhātṛ (the ‘disposer/ordainer’

• arranger of destinies)', 'ca': 'and', 'kuberasya (kubera)': 'of Kubera (lord of wealth

• guardian of the north)', 'yamasya (yama)': 'of Yama (lord of death

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Agni
• Īśa (Śiva)
• Soma
• Varuṇa
• Prajāpati
• Dhātṛ
• Vidhātṛ
• Kubera
• Yama
• vimāna (aerial chariots)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights cosmic order: even the greatest divine powers appear with distinct forms and boundaries. Ethically, it suggests that true greatness operates within dharma—right measure, rightful domain, and disciplined restraint rather than chaos or excess.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes a spectacular vision of many divine aerial chariots (vimānas) shining across different parts of the sky, each associated with major deities such as Agni, Śiva (Īśa), Soma, Varuṇa, Prajāpati, Dhātṛ, Vidhātṛ, Kubera, and Yama.