Shloka 39

Prahlada's Instructions to Bali — Prahlada’s Instructions to Bali on Vishnu Worship, Monthly Gifts, and Building Hari’s Temple

Devanagari script

इमाश् च पितरो दैत्य गाथा गायन्ति योगिनः पुरतो यदुसिंहस्य ज्यामघस्य तपस्विनः

Transliteration

imāś ca pitaro daitya gāthā gāyanti yoginaḥ purato yadusiṃhasya jyāmaghasya tapasvinaḥ

Translation

Wahai Daitya! Para leluhur (pitaraḥ) ini melantunkan gāthā suci seperti para yogin, di hadapan Jyāmagha, singa di antara Yadu, sang pertapa.

Speakers

• Narratorial voice within the Purāṇic dialogue (speaker not explicit in the given excerpt) addressing a Daitya interlocutor

Primary Deities

• Pitṛs (ancestral deities)

Key Themes

• Ancestral veneration (Pitṛ)
• Royal genealogy and exemplars
• Tapas (ascetic merit)
• Praise-poetry (gāthā/stuti)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Who are the ‘pitaraḥ’ here, and why are they portrayed as singing like yogins?

In Purāṇic idiom, the Pitṛs are semi-divine ancestral beings sustained by śrāddha and remembered through lineage. Depicting them as ‘yoginaḥ’ emphasizes their subtle, merit-based status and their capacity to utter authoritative praise (gāthā) that validates a lineage’s dharma and tapas.

Why is Jyāmagha called ‘Yadu-siṃha’ and ‘tapasvin’—is he a king or an ascetic?

Purāṇas often idealize exemplary rulers as possessing both kṣātra authority and ascetic discipline. ‘Yadu-siṃha’ marks Jyāmagha as preeminent in the Yadu line, while ‘tapasvin’ signals that his legitimacy and fame are grounded in austerity and self-restraint, not merely power.

Does this verse contain geographical/tīrtha information typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Not directly. This unit functions as genealogical-ethical framing: it establishes a model of merit (tapas, devotion, ancestral approval) that later chapters often connect to tīrtha practice, temple service, and pilgrimage merit.