Shloka 10

Āpava

Vasiṣṭha) and the Vasus: the Kāmadhenu Theft and the Curse (Śaṃtanu–Gaṅgā Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

ययातिरुवाच यावत्‌ पृथिव्यां विहित॑ं गवाश्र॑ सहारण्यै: पशुभि: पार्वतैश्न । तावल्लोका दिवि ते संस्थिता वै तथा विजानीहि नरेन्द्रसिंह,ययातिने कहा--नरेन्द्रसिंह! इस पृथ्वीपर जंगली और पर्वतीय पशुओंके साथ जितने गाय, घोड़े आदि पशु रहते हैं, स्वर्गमें तुम्हारे लिये उतने ही लोक विद्यमान हैं। तुम इसे निश्चय जानो

Transliteration

yayātir uvāca yāvat pṛthivyāṃ vihitaṃ gavāśvaṃ sahāraṇyaiḥ paśubhiḥ pārvataiś ca | tāval lokā divi te saṃsthitā vai tathā vijānīhi narendrasiṃha ||

Translation

ยยาติกล่าวว่า “โอ้สิงห์แห่งหมู่กษัตริย์ จงรู้ไว้ให้แน่: บนพิภพนี้มีโค ม้า และสัตว์ทั้งหลายมากเพียงใด ทั้งสัตว์ป่าและสัตว์ที่อาศัยตามภูเขามากเพียงใด ในสวรรค์ก็มีโลกทั้งหลายตั้งไว้เพื่อเจ้าเท่านั้นมากเท่านั้น”

Word by Word

• {'yayātiḥ uvāca': 'Yayāti said', 'yāvat': 'as much as

• as many as', 'pṛthivyām': 'on the earth', 'vihitam': 'placed, existing, found

• established', 'go (gavām)': 'cow

• cattle', 'aśva (aśvānām)': 'horse', 'saha': 'together with', 'āraṇya': 'of the forest

• wild', 'paśu': 'beast, animal', 'pārvatīya / pārvatāḥ': 'mountain(-dwelling)', 'tāvat': 'so much

• that many', 'lokāḥ': 'worlds, realms (esp. heavenly abodes)', 'divi': 'in heaven, in the sky', 'te': 'for you

• your', 'saṃsthitāḥ': 'standing, situated, established', 'vai': 'indeed, certainly', 'tathā': 'thus, in that manner', 'vijānīhi': 'know, understand (imperative)', 'narendra-siṃha': 'lion among kings (royal epithet)'}

Speaker

अष्टक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yayāti
• Narendrasiṃha (royal addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Merit (puṇya) is portrayed as yielding proportionate heavenly reward: the verse uses a vivid numerical comparison—countless animals on earth—to convey the vastness of the recipient’s promised heavenly abodes, emphasizing certainty of karmic fruition.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the course of the Āṣṭaka-related episode, Yayāti addresses a kingly figure (called ‘narendrasiṃha’) and assures him that an immense number of heavenly realms are reserved for him, using the total of earthly cattle, horses, and wild/mountain animals as the measure.