Shloka 120
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
नाय॑ नृत्येद् यथा देव तथा त्वं कर्तुमहसि । त॑ प्रनृत्त समासाद्य हर्षाविष्टेन चेतसा । सुराणां हितकामार्थमृषिं देवो5भ्यभाषत,“देव! आप कोई ऐसा उपाय करें, जिससे इनका यह नृत्य बंद हो जाय।” महादेवजी देवताओंके हितकी इच्छासे हर्षावेशसे नाचते हुए मुनिके पास गये और इस प्रकार बोले --
nāyaṁ nṛtyed yathā deva tathā tvaṁ kartum arhasi | taṁ pranṛttaṁ samāsādya harṣāviṣṭena cetasā | surāṇāṁ hitakāmārtham ṛṣiṁ devo 'bhyabhāṣata— “deva! āp koī aisā upāya kareṁ, jis se in kā yah nṛtya band ho jāya.” mahādeva-jī devatāoṁ ke hit kī icchā se harṣāveś se nācate hue muni ke pās gaye aur is prakār bole —
Ghulasthya said: “It is not right that you should dance in this manner, O god; you ought to act differently.” Approaching the one who was dancing, with a mind seized by exhilaration, the god addressed the sage for the welfare of the gods: “O revered one, please devise some means by which this dancing of theirs may be brought to an end.” Thus, desiring the gods’ good, Mahādeva went to the sage while dancing in a surge of joy and spoke in this way.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even divine power is expected to act with propriety (aucitya) and for loka-hita (the welfare of others). The verse frames action as ethically accountable: one should choose means that restore order and benefit the community (here, the gods), rather than indulging in conduct deemed unfitting.
A speaker reports that Mahādeva, moved by joy and dancing, approaches a sage. The god addresses the sage with a request—seeking a practical means to stop ‘their’ dancing—explicitly motivated by the welfare of the gods.