Shloka 14

Āstīka-stuti at Janamejaya’s Sacrifice (आस्तीकस्तुतिः / यज्ञप्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

आचख्यौ स च विश्रान्तो राज्ञ: सर्वमशेषत: । शप्तोडसि मम पुत्रेण यत्तो भव महीपते

Transliteration

ācakhyau sa ca viśrānto rājñaḥ sarvam aśeṣataḥ | śapto ’si mama putreṇa yatto bhava mahīpate ||

Translation

വിശ്രമിച്ച ശേഷം അവൻ രാജാവിനോട് എല്ലാം പൂർണ്ണമായി അറിയിച്ചു; പിന്നെ മുനിയുടെ സന്ദേശം പറഞ്ഞു—“ഹേ മഹീപതേ! എന്റെ പുത്രൻ നിങ്ങളെ ശപിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു; അതിനാൽ സംയമത്തോടെ ജാഗ്രത പാലിക്കൂ.”

Word by Word

• {'ācakhyau': 'he related, he reported (perfect of √khyā with ā-)', 'sa': 'he', 'ca': 'and', 'viśrāntaḥ': 'rested, having taken rest', 'rājñaḥ': 'to/of the king', 'sarvam': 'everything', 'aśeṣataḥ': 'without remainder, completely', 'śaptaḥ asi (śapto ’si)': 'you have been cursed', 'mama': 'my', 'putreṇa': 'by (my) son', 'yattaḥ (yattaḥ bhava)': 'alert, vigilant

• be attentive', 'bhava': 'be (imperative)', 'mahīpate': 'O lord of the earth, O king'}

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• King (Parikshit, implied by context)
• Shamika (Śamīka, implied by context)
• Shamika’s son (Śṛṅgin, implied by context)
• Gauramukha (messenger/disciple, per accompanying prose)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Words and actions toward the spiritually disciplined carry moral consequences; when harm has already been set in motion (a curse), the ethical response is vigilance, restraint, and responsibility rather than escalation.

What is happening in the narrative?

A messenger, after resting, fully informs the king and conveys the sage’s warning that the king has been cursed by the sage’s son, urging the king to remain alert in light of the impending consequence.