Shloka 21
कल्माषपाद-शाप-कारणम्
Cause of Kalmāṣapāda’s Niyoga under a Curse
(स्तुतो5स्मि वरदस्ते5हं वरं वरय सुव्रत । स्तुतिस्त्वयोक्ता भक्तानां जप्येयं वरदो<5स्म्यहम् ।।
stuto 'smi varadas te 'haṃ varaṃ varaya suvrata | stutis tvayoktā bhaktānāṃ japyeyam varado 'smy aham ||
“Aku telah dipuji, dan aku bersedia mengurniakan anugerah. Wahai resi yang teguh dengan laku suci, pilihlah apa jua kurnia yang engkau kehendaki. Madah pujian yang engkau ucapkan itu layak dijadikan japa yang berterusan oleh para bhakta. Aku benar-benar pemberi anugerah.” Mendengar demikian, Vasiṣṭha sang pertapa agung menunduk sujud kepada Vivasvān yang gemilang, lalu bersiap menjawab.
(वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
A hymn offered with disciplined devotion (suvrata) becomes spiritually efficacious for the wider community (bhaktānām japyeyam), and divine favor (varadaḥ) responds to sincere reverence rather than coercion—linking ethical self-restraint with grace.
After being praised, the Sun-god Vivasvān declares himself pleased and ready to grant a boon, affirming that Vasiṣṭha’s stuti is worthy of continual recitation. Vasiṣṭha then bows to the radiant deity and prepares to reply (i.e., to request a boon).