Shloka 21

Pūjya-namaskārya-prakaraṇa

On Those Worthy of Honor and Salutation

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच वृणीष्वेति तदा प्राह ततस्तं बलवृत्रहा

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca: vṛṇīṣveti tadā prāha tatastaṃ balavṛtrahā

Translation

वैशम्पायन उवाच—वृणीष्वेति तदा प्राह ततस्तं बलवृत्रहा।

Word by Word

• वैशम्पायनः: Vaiśampāyana
• वैशम्पायनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैशम्पायन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• वृणीष्व: choose (you)!
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृ
• Form: Imperative (Loṭ), 2nd, Singular

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• प्राह: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+अह्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• ततः: thereupon / then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• बलवृत्रहा: the slayer of the mighty Vṛtra
• बलवृत्रहा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलवृत्रहन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Indra (Balavṛtrahā, slayer of Vṛtra)
• Vṛtra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the dharmic motif of granting a boon: a superior (here, Indra) invites the other party to state a desired request, implying responsibility and discernment in what one asks for and what one grants.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana reports that Indra—described by the epithet ‘slayer of Vṛtra’—addresses a person and tells him to choose a boon, marking a transition to a request-and-grant episode.