Shloka 4

Paurava-vaṃśa-kathana (Account of the Paurava Lineage) | महाभारत आदि पर्व अध्याय ८९

Devanagari script

ययातिरुवाच सुरर्िगन्धर्वनरावमानात्‌ क्षयं गता मे यदि शक्र लोका: । इच्छाम्यहं सुरलोकाद्‌ विहीन: सतां मध्ये पतितुं देवराज,ययातिने कहा--देवराज इन्द्र! देवता, ऋषि, गन्धर्व और मनुष्य आदिका अपमान करनेके कारण यदि मेरे पुण्यलोक क्षीण हो गये हैं तो इन्द्रलोकसे भ्रष्ट होकर मैं साधु पुरुषोंके बीचमें गिरनेकी इच्छा करता हूँ

Transliteration

yayātir uvāca surarṣi-gandharva-narāvamānāt kṣayaṃ gatā me yadi śakra lokāḥ | icchāmy ahaṃ suralokād vihīnaḥ satāṃ madhye patituṃ devarāja ||

Translation

Yayāti said: “O Śakra (Indra), if through my contempt for gods, seers, Gandharvas, and men my meritorious worlds have been exhausted, then—fallen from the heavenly realm—I wish to descend and take my place among the righteous. O king of the gods, let me fall into the company of the good.”

Word by Word

• {'yayātiḥ': 'Yayāti (a king

• speaker here)', 'uvāca': 'said', 'śakra': 'Śakra

• Indra, lord of the gods', 'sura': 'god, deity', 'ṛṣi': 'seer, sage', 'gandharva': 'celestial musician

• a class of heavenly beings', 'nara': 'man, human being', 'avamāna': 'disrespect, contempt, insult', 'surarṣi-gandharva-narāvamānāt': 'because of disrespect shown to gods, seers, Gandharvas, and men', 'kṣayam gataḥ': 'gone to exhaustion

• diminished, spent', 'lokāḥ': 'worlds/realms (here: earned heavenly abodes as fruit of merit)', 'yadi': 'if', 'me': 'my', 'icchāmi': 'I desire, I wish', 'aham': 'I', 'suralokāt': 'from the world of the gods

• heaven', 'vihīnaḥ': 'deprived of, bereft of

• fallen from', 'satām': 'of the good, of the virtuous', 'madhye': 'in the midst of, among', 'patitum': 'to fall, to descend', 'devarāja': 'king of the gods (Indra)'}

Speaker

शक्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ययाति (Yayāti)
• शक्र/इन्द्र (Śakra/Indra)
• सुर (gods)
• ऋषि (seers)
• गन्धर्व (Gandharvas)
• नर (humans)
• सुरलोक/इन्द्रलोक (heavenly realm)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Merit (puṇya) is not permanent when undermined by arrogance and disrespect; ethical conduct—especially reverence toward gods, sages, and fellow beings—sustains one’s spiritual standing. When merit is exhausted, seeking the company of the virtuous is presented as a corrective path.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yayāti addresses Indra (Śakra), acknowledging that his heavenly attainments may have been depleted because he insulted various classes of beings. Accepting the consequence of falling from heaven, he expresses a wish to descend and be among righteous people rather than cling to a compromised celestial status.