Shloka 12
प्रलय-प्रक्रिया (Pralaya Process) — Guṇa-Withdrawal and Pratisaṃcara
श्रीरवाच सत्ये स्थितास्मि दाने च व्रते तपसि चैव हि । पराक्रमे च धर्मे च पराचीनस्ततो बलि:,लक्ष्मीने कहा--मैं सत्य, दान, व्रत, तपस्या, पराक्रम और धर्ममें निवास करती हूँ। राजा बलि इन सबसे विमुख हो चुके हैं
śrīr uvāca satye sthitāsmi dāne ca vrate tapasi caiva hi | parākrame ca dharme ca parācīnas tato baliḥ ||
Śrī (Lakṣmī) berkata: “Aku bersemayam dalam kebenaran, dalam kemurahan hati, dalam nazar suci, dan dalam tapa; aku juga bersemayam dalam keberanian dan dalam dharma. Maka Bali telah berpaling daripada kebajikan-kebajikan itu, lalu aku pun menarik diri daripadanya.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prosperity (Śrī/Lakṣmī) is portrayed as inseparable from ethical and disciplined virtues—truth, generosity, vows, austerity, valor, and dharma. When a ruler turns away from these foundations, fortune departs, implying that lasting success depends on moral conduct rather than mere power.
Śrī (Lakṣmī) speaks, explaining where she ‘dwells’—in specific virtues. By stating that Bali has become averse to those virtues, she gives the reason for her withdrawal from him, framing a moral causality between a king’s conduct and the presence of prosperity.