Shloka 7

Strī-dharma: Śiva’s Inquiry, Umā’s Consultation, and Gaṅgā’s Instruction

Devanagari script

सोमश्न वर्धते तेन समुद्रश्न महोदधि: । अश्वमेधचतुर्भागं फलं सृजति वासव:,उस दानसे चन्द्रमा तथा महोदथधि समुद्रकी वृद्धि होती है और उस दाताको इन्द्र अश्वमेध यज्ञका चतुर्थाश फल देते हैं

Transliteration

somaśnaḥ vardhate tena samudraś ca mahodadhiḥ | aśvamedha-caturbhāgaṁ phalaṁ sṛjati vāsavaḥ ||

Translation

ด้วยทานนั้น โสมะคือพระจันทร์ย่อมได้รับการหล่อเลี้ยง และมหาสมุทรอันกว้างใหญ่ก็เพิ่มพูนด้วย อีกทั้งวาสวะคือพระอินทร์ประทานผลบุญแก่ผู้ให้ เสมอด้วยหนึ่งในสี่แห่งผลของพิธีอัศวเมธ

Word by Word

सोमश्नःthe moon (lit. soma-eater)

वर्धतेgrows, increases

तेनby that (by that gift/act)

समुद्रश्नःthe ocean (lit. sea-eater)

महोदधिःthe great ocean

अश्वमेधचतुर्भागम्a fourth part of the Aśvamedha (merit)

फलम्fruit, result

सृजतिbestows, grants, produces

वासवःIndra

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

Soma (Moon)

Samudra (Ocean)

Mahodadhi (Great Ocean)

Vāsava (Indra)

Aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that righteous giving (dāna) has immense spiritual efficacy: it sustains cosmic forces (symbolized by Soma and the ocean) and earns the donor a significant share of sacrificial merit—here quantified as one-fourth of the fruit of an Aśvamedha.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dāna-dharma, Bhīṣma explains to Yudhiṣṭhira the extraordinary results of a particular act of charity, stating that it nourishes Soma and increases the ocean, and that Indra rewards the donor with a quarter of the merit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice.