Shloka 38

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

Devanagari script

पितामहस्य पुरतः कुलान्यष्टौ तु यानि च तारयेदात्मना सार्धं विष्णोर्मन्दिरकारकः

Transliteration

pitāmahasya purataḥ kulānyaṣṭau tu yāni ca tārayedātmanā sārdhaṃ viṣṇormandirakārakaḥ

Translation

പിതാമഹൻ (ബ്രഹ്മാവ്) സന്നിധിയിൽ വിഷ്ണുവിന്റെ മന്ദിരം പണിയുന്നവൻ, തനോടൊപ്പം തന്റെ കുലത്തിലെ എട്ട് തലമുറകളെയും തരിച്ചുയർത്തുന്നു।

Speakers

• (Contextual frame of Adhyaya 68) Purāṇic narrator teaching the transgenerational merit of Viṣṇu-temple construction; exact interlocutors not specified in the excerpt.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Brahma (Pitāmaha, implied)

Key Themes

• Ancestral uplift (pitṛ/vaṃśa benefit)
• Merit transfer across generations
• Temple construction as supreme dāna
• Soteriological ‘crossing over’ (tāraṇa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is ‘Pitāmaha’ here—one’s grandfather or Brahmā?

Both readings are possible in Purāṇic Sanskrit. ‘Pitāmaha’ commonly denotes Brahmā, the cosmic grandsire, and ‘purataḥ’ (‘before/in the presence of’) suits a cosmic court setting where merit is acknowledged. It can also resonate with the ancestral register (one’s forefathers).

What are the ‘eight kulas’ that are delivered?

Purāṇic and Dharmaśāstra traditions often speak of saving multiple generations/branches of a family line through exceptional merit. ‘Eight’ functions as a conventional number indicating extensive lineage benefit; it need not map to a single universally fixed list across all texts.

How does temple-building ‘deliver’ ancestors in Purāṇic theology?

Mandira-nirmāṇa is treated as a continuing, public, and deity-centered merit source. Because worship and benefits recur over time, the merit is considered powerful enough to uplift the doer and extend auspicious consequences to the family line, expressed here as ‘tāraṇa’ (crossing beyond adverse states).