Shloka 48

Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्

Devanagari script

ऋषय ऊचु: कुशलं सह दानेन तस्मै यस्य प्रजा इमा: । फलान्युपधियुक्तानि य एवं न: प्रयच्छति

Transliteration

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ: kuśalaṃ saha dānena tasmai yasya prajā imāḥ | phalāny upadhiyuktāni ya evaṃ naḥ prayacchati ||

Translation

Para resi berkata: “Semoga kesejahteraan menyertai raja itu beserta pemberiannya—dia yang rakyatnya membawa buah-buah yang ternoda tipu daya, dan yang dengan dalih mempersembahkan buah, justru menganugerahkan emas kepada kami. Semoga ia tetap selamat dan makmur bersama tindak derma itu.”

Word by Word

• ऋषयः: sages
• ऋषयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ऊचुः: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• कुशलम्: welfare, well-being
• कुशलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुशल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सह: together with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह

• दानेन: with (his) gift/charity
• दानेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• यस्य: whose
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• प्रजाः: subjects, people
• प्रजाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• इमाः: these
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• फलानि: fruits
• फलानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• उपधि-युक्तानि: endowed with a pretext/guile (as a cover)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपधि-युक्त
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एवम्: thus, in this manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• नः: to us
• नः: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: 1st, Dative, Plural

• प्रयच्छति: gives, bestows
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-यम्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

पशुसख उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ṛṣayaḥ (sages)
• prajāḥ (subjects/people)
• phala (fruits)
• suvarṇa (gold, implied by the Hindi gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension between outward acts and inner intent: even when a gift is routed through a deceptive pretext (fruits used as a cover), the act is still framed as dāna, and the sages respond with a blessing for the giver’s welfare—inviting reflection on how charity, motive, and social propriety interact in dharma discourse.

What is happening in the narrative?

A king (through his subjects) presents fruits that are ‘upadhi-yukta’—serving as a pretext—while actually giving valuable wealth (gold) to the sages. The sages recognize the stratagem and pronounce a benediction: may the king remain well and prosperous together with his gift.