Shloka 57
Āśā-prabhava (आशाप्रभव) — On the Rise and Power of Hope/Expectation
Sumitra Itihāsa Begins
तामपृच्छत् स दैत्येन्द्र: सा श्रीरित्येनमब्रवीत् । उषितास्मि स्वयं वीर त्वयि सत्यपराक्रम,त्वया त्यक्ता गमिष्यामि बल॑ हानुगता हाहम् | नरेश्वर! ऐसा कहकर बल सदाचारके पीछे चला गया। तत्पश्चात् प्रह्नमादके शरीरसे एक प्रभामयी देवी प्रकट हुई। दैत्यराजने उससे पूछा--“आप कौन हैं?” वह बोली--'मैं लक्ष्मी हूँ। सत्यपराक्रमी वीर! मैं स्वयं ही आकर तुम्हारे शरीरमें निवास करती थी, परंतु अब तुमने मुझे त्याग दिया; इसलिये चली जाऊँगी; क्योंकि मैं बलकी अनुगामिनी हूँ”
tām apṛcchat sa daityendraḥ sā śrīr ity enam abravīt | uṣitāsmi svayaṃ vīra tvayi satyaparākrama, tvayā tyaktā gamiṣyāmi bala-hānugatā hāham ||
तामपृच्छत् स दैत्येन्द्रः सा श्रीरित्येनमब्रवीत् । उषितास्मि स्वयं वीर त्वयि सत्यपराक्रम । त्वया त्यक्ता गमिष्यामि बलानुगता ह्यहम् ॥
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śrī (fortune, splendor, legitimacy of rule) is not permanently fixed; she abides where strength and right conduct are sustained, and she departs when one abandons the conditions that uphold power—especially truthfulness and disciplined governance. The verse frames prosperity as ethically contingent rather than merely accidental.
From Prahlāda’s body a luminous देवी appears. The Daitya king asks her identity; she declares herself to be Śrī (Lakṣmī). She explains that she had been dwelling in him voluntarily, but since he has ‘abandoned’ her, she will leave—because she follows Bala, and with the waning of strength she too moves away.