Shloka 24
प्रलय-प्रक्रिया (Pralaya Process) — Guṇa-Withdrawal and Pratisaṃcara
श्रीरवाच एष मे निहित: पादो यो5यमप्सु प्रतिछ्तित: । तृतीयं शक्र पादं मे तस्मात् सुनिहितं कुरु,लक्ष्मीने कहा--इन्द्र! लो, मैंने यह पैर जलमें रख दिया। अब यह जलमें ही सुप्रतिष्ठित है। अब तुम मेरे तीसरे पैरको भलीभाँति स्थापित करो
Śrīr uvāca: eṣa me nihitaḥ pādo yo ’yam apsu pratiṣṭhitaḥ | tṛtīyaṃ Śakra pādaṃ me tasmāt sunihitaṃ kuru ||
Śrī (Lakṣmī) bersabda: “Wahai Śakra (Indra), lihatlah—salah satu kakiku telah kutempatkan di dalam air, dan kini tegak kukuh di sana. Maka, sekarang engkau hendaklah menegakkan kakiku yang ketiga dengan sebaik-baiknya.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prosperity (Śrī/Lakṣmī) is not random; it stands on specific ‘supports’ (pādas). To make fortune stable, one must establish its foundations properly—implying dharmic grounding and right placement of the next sustaining principle rather than mere power or desire.
Lakṣmī addresses Indra and reports that one of her ‘feet’ has been set in the waters and is now firmly established. She then asks Indra to secure her third ‘foot’ as well, continuing the process of establishing the bases upon which her presence and stability depend.