Shloka 21

Śoka-śamana: Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation and Nārada’s Exempla to Sṛñjaya

Chapter 29

Devanagari script

यस्मिन्‌ प्रशासति महीं नृपतौ राजसत्तम | अकृष्टपच्या पृथिवी विबभौ चैत्यमालिनी

Transliteration

yasmin praśāsati mahīṁ nṛpatau rājasattama | akṛṣṭapacyā pṛthivī vibabhau caityamālinī ||

Translation

Ketika raja terbaik itu memerintah bumi, tanah menghasilkan panen tanpa dibajak dan tanpa ditabur. Seluruh dunia tampak berhias laksana untaian tempat suci dan kuil, sehingga bumi bersinar dengan keindahan yang luar biasa.

Word by Word

• यस्मिन्: in which (time/condition)
• यस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• प्रशासति: rules/governs
• Type: Verb
• Root: शास्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• महीम्: the earth
• महीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• नृपतौ: when the king (was ruling)
• नृपतौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृपति
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• राजसत्तम: O best of kings
• Type: Noun (vocative used as address)
• Root: राजसत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• अकृष्टपच्या: yielding crops without ploughing/sowing
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अकृष्टपच्या
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• पृथिवी: the earth
• पृथिवी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• विबभौ: shone/appeared splendid
• Type: Verb
• Root: भा
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• चैत्य-मालिनी: garlanded with shrines/temples
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चैत्य-मालिनी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वायुदेव (Vāyu)
• नृपतिः (the king)
• पृथिवी/मही (the Earth)
• चैत्यानि (shrines/temples)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links righteous kingship (rājadharma) with the well-being of the realm: when a king governs justly, nature and society flourish—symbolized by spontaneous fertility and a landscape rich in sacred institutions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu describes an ideal period under an exemplary ruler: the earth produces abundantly without cultivation, and the world appears ornamented with many shrines, highlighting both material prosperity and religious-cultural vitality.