प्रलय-प्रक्रिया (Pralaya Process) — Guṇa-Withdrawal and Pratisaṃcara
शक्र उवाच कथं त्वया बलिस्त्यक्त: किमर्थ वा शिखण्डिनि । कथं च मां न जह्यास्त्वं तन्मे ब्रूहि शुचिस्मिते
śakra uvāca kathaṃ tvayā balis tyaktaḥ kimarthaṃ vā śikhaṇḍini | kathaṃ ca māṃ na jahyās tvaṃ tan me brūhi śucismite ||
Śakra (Indra) berkata: “Wahai perempuan berambut dikepang, bagaimana engkau meninggalkan Bali, dan karena alasan apa? Wahai engkau yang senyumnya suci dan lembut, katakan pula: bagaimana engkau tidak akan meninggalkanku?”
शक्र उवाच
The verse frames prosperity (Śrī) as conditional rather than permanent: Indra asks why she left Bali and seeks assurance she will not leave him. The ethical implication is that sovereignty and success depend on sustaining dharma and right conduct; when those supports fail, fortune departs.
Indra (Śakra) addresses a divine feminine figure—described with epithets like “braided-haired” and “pure-smiling”—and questions her about her departure from King Bali. He then asks how she will refrain from abandoning him, seeking the reason and the principle governing her allegiance.