Shloka 24
Adhyāya 223: Nāradasya Guṇa-kathana
Catalogue of Nārada’s Virtues
यदा च पृथिवीं सर्वा यजमानो<नुपर्यगा: । शम्याक्षेपेण विधिना तदा55सीत् किं तु ते हदि
yadā ca pṛthivīṃ sarvāṃ yajamāno ’nuparyagāḥ | śamyākṣepena vidhinā tadā āsīt kiṃ tu te hṛdi ||
Śakra disse: “E quando, como sacrificante, circundaste toda a terra de acordo com o rito prescrito do lançamento da śamyā (a estaca ritual de madeira), que força de espírito—que ardor—havia então em teu coração?”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights reverence for disciplined ritual action performed according to proper injunctions (vidhi). It frames inner zeal (utsāha) and steadfastness of heart as essential to dharmic undertaking, especially when the act is vast in scope and demanding.
Śakra (Indra) addresses the interlocutor and asks about the inner state experienced during a grand sacrificial observance—described as circumambulating the whole earth while performing the śamyā-casting rite according to rule—probing the intensity of resolve and enthusiasm that sustained such an act.