Shloka 59

Devanagari script

सो<हं तस्य प्रसादेन देवस्य हरिमेधस: । अपान्तरतमा नाम ततो जातो<७ज्ञया हरे: । पुनश्च जातो विख्यातो वसिष्ठकुलनन्दन:,“इस प्रकार मैं भगवान्‌ विष्णुके कृपा-प्रसादसे पहले अपान्तरतमा नामसे उत्पन्न हुआ था और अब उन्हीं श्रीहरिकी आज्ञासे पुनः वसिष्ठकुलनन्दन व्यासके नामसे उत्पन्न होकर प्रसिद्धिको प्राप्त हुआ हूँ

Transliteration

so ’haṁ tasya prasādena devasya harimedhasaḥ | apāntaratamā nāma tato jāto ’jñayā hareḥ | punaś ca jāto vikhyāto vasiṣṭhakulanandanaḥ vyāsa-nāmnā ||

Translation

सोऽहं तस्य प्रसादेन देवस्य हरिमेधसः। अपान्तरतमा नाम ततो जातोऽज्ञया हरेः। पुनश्च जातो विख्यातो वसिष्ठकुलनन्दनः॥

Word by Word

• {'so ’ham': 'I indeed

• I myself', 'tasya prasādena': 'by his grace/favor', 'devasya': 'of the god

• of the divine Lord', 'harimedhasaḥ': 'of Hari of (unfailing) intelligence/wisdom', 'apāntaratamā': 'Apāntaratamā (a former birth/name)', 'nāma': 'by name

• named', 'tataḥ': 'then

• from that (cause)', 'jātaḥ': 'born

• arisen', 'ājñayā': 'by the command/ordinance', 'hareḥ': 'of Hari (Viṣṇu)', 'punaḥ ca': 'and again

• once more', 'vikhyātaḥ': 'well-known

• renowned', 'vasiṣṭha-kula-nandanaḥ': 'the joy/delight of Vasiṣṭha’s family/lineage', 'vyāsa': 'Vyāsa (the arranger/compiler

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Hari
• Viṣṇu
• Apāntaratamā
• Vasiṣṭha
• Vyāsa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes divine grace and divine command as the ultimate causes behind a sage’s manifestation and mission: spiritual authority and renown are presented as arising from Hari’s favor, not merely from personal effort or worldly status.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker identifies himself across births: he states that he was earlier born as Apāntaratamā through the Lord’s grace, and that by the same Lord Hari’s command he has been born again and become famous as Vyāsa, associated with the lineage of Vasiṣṭha.