Shloka 47
Adhyaya 18 — Arjuna Declines the Throne; Garga Directs Him to Dattatreya; The Gods Defeat the Daityas through Dattatreya’s Vision and the Movement of Lakshmi
दत्तात्रेयस्ततो देवान् विहस्येदमथाब्रवीत् ।
दिष्ट्या वर्धथ दैत्यानामेषा लक्ष्मीः शिरोगता ।
सप्त स्थानान्यतिक्रान्ता नवमं यमुपैष्यति ॥
dattātreyas tato devān vihasyedam athābravīt | diṣṭyā vardhatha daityānām eṣā lakṣmīḥ śirogatā | sapta sthānāny atikrāntā navamaṃ yam upaiṣyati ||
Lalu Dattātreya, sambil tertawa, berkata kepada para dewa: “Sungguh, kemakmuran para Daitya bertambah—‘Lakṣmī’ ini telah jatuh di atas kepala mereka! Setelah melewati tujuh perhentian, ia akan menuju perhentian kesembilan.”
FAQs
Dattātreya’s laughter signals the inevitability of consequence: what the Daityas call ‘fortune’ is actually the setup for their fall. Adharma often mistakes immediate gain for lasting prosperity.
A narrative hinge that foreshadows outcomes (vaṃśānucarita-style moral episode), not a direct pancalakṣaṇa passage.
‘Lakṣmī on the head’ is double-edged: externally, they bear the palanquin; internally, they have enthroned craving above discernment. The cryptic ‘seven stations… ninth’ functions as omen-language: a destined transition from apparent elevation to a terminal locus (often read in Purāṇic idiom as the movement toward ruin/niyati).