Shloka 33

Prahlada's Instructions to Bali — Prahlada’s Instructions to Bali on Vishnu Worship, Monthly Gifts, and Building Hari’s Temple

Devanagari script

खरोष्ट्राश्वतरान् नागान् यानयुग्यमजाविकम् दात्वयं केशवप्रीत्यै मासि मार्गशिरे नरैः

Transliteration

kharoṣṭrāśvatarān nāgān yānayugyamajāvikam dātvayaṃ keśavaprītyai māsi mārgaśire naraiḥ

Translation

ในเดือนมารคศีรษะ เพื่อความยินดีของเกศวะ ชนทั้งหลายพึงถวายทานเป็นลา อูฐ ล่อ ช้าง พาหนะที่เหมาะแก่การเดินทาง และแพะกับแกะ เป็นต้น

Speakers

• Likely the narrator/ṛṣi-teacher addressing an inquirer (chapter context: prescriptive dharma instruction on māsika-dāna).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Keśava)

Key Themes

• Dāna (Charity)
• Māsika-dāna (month-specific gifting)
• Bhakti expressed through material gifts
• Merit (puṇya) through supporting mobility and livelihood

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "vira", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why are transport animals and conveyances prescribed specifically for Mārgaśīrṣa?

This chapter presents a māsika-dāna scheme where each month is linked to particular gifts. Transport animals and travel-conveyances symbolize enabling pilgrimage, trade, and service; giving them is framed as a direct devotional act that ‘pleases Keśava’ by supporting dharmic movement and livelihood.

Does ‘nāga’ here mean a serpent or an elephant?

In dāna-lists alongside donkeys, camels, and mules, ‘nāga’ is best read as ‘elephant’ (a standard meaning in classical Sanskrit), fitting the category of valuable conveyance/royal transport rather than a serpent.

Is this verse connected to a specific tīrtha in the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Not in this śloka. Although the Vāmana Purāṇa is strongly geographical elsewhere, this passage is a dharma-instruction segment focused on month-wise charity rather than a named sacred landscape.