Shloka 44

Āloka-dāna (Dīpa-dāna), Sumanas–Dhūpa–Dīpa Phala: Manu–Suvarṇa and Śukra–Bali Exempla

Devanagari script

य एवोक्ता: सुमनसां प्रदाने गुणहेतव: । धूपेष्वपि परिज्ञेयास्त एव प्रीतिवर्धना:,देवताओंको पुष्पदान करनेसे जो गुण या लाभ बताये गये हैं, वे ही धूप निवेदन करनेसे भी प्राप्त होते हैं। ऐसा जानना चाहिये। धूप भी देवताओंकी प्रसन्नता बढ़ानेवाले हैं

Transliteration

ya evoktāḥ sumanasāṃ pradāne guṇa-hetavaḥ | dhūpeṣv api parijñeyās ta eva prīti-vardhanāḥ ||

Translation

ศุกระกล่าวว่า “บุญกุศลและผลอันเป็นคุณที่ประกาศไว้สำหรับการถวายดอกไม้แด่เทพทั้งหลาย พึงเข้าใจว่าใช้ได้กับการถวายธูปด้วย ธูปก็เพิ่มพูนความพอพระทัยของเหล่าเทพ—จงรู้ไว้ดังนี้”

Word by Word

{'yaḥ eva''whatever, precisely those which', 'uktāḥ': 'have been stated, declared', 'sumanasām': 'of flowers (lit. ‘good-minded/pleasant’

here ‘flowers’)', 'pradāne''in the giving/offer, in the act of offering', 'guṇa-hetavaḥ': 'causes of merit/virtue

sources of beneficial qualities/results', 'dhūpeṣu''in incense-offerings

with incense', 'api''also, even', 'parijñeyāḥ': 'to be understood/recognized correctly', 'ta eva': 'those very (same)', 'prīti-vardhanāḥ': 'increasing pleasure/favor

Speaker

शुक्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śukra

devatāḥ (deities)

sumanas (flowers)

dhūpa (incense)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That incense-offering (dhūpa) yields the same kinds of merit and beneficial results as flower-offering (puṣpa/sumanas) and likewise increases the deities’ favor; sincere devotional acts are efficacious even when the offering differs.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śukra is instructing about ritual worship and its fruits, clarifying that the previously stated benefits of offering flowers to the gods should be extended to incense offerings as well, emphasizing their role in pleasing the deities.