Shloka 28
पात्रलक्षण-परिक्षा (Pātra-Lakṣaṇa Parīkṣā) — Criteria for a Worthy Recipient
तेषामेव प्रभावेण सहस्ननयनो हासौ । शतक्रतु: समभवत् पश्य माधव यादृशम्
teṣām eva prabhāveṇa sahasranayano hy asau | śatakratuḥ samabhavat paśya mādhava yādṛśam ||
“Sa tanging kapangyarihan ng mga brāhmaṇa na iyon, ang Indra na ito ay naging ‘may sanlibong mata.’ Masdan, O Mādhava, kung gaano kalakas ang kanilang bisa: mula sa mga tandang lumitaw sa kanyang katawan dahil sa kanilang impluwensiya, siya’y nakilala bilang Sahasrākṣa (Sanlibong-Mata) at Śatakratu (tagaganap ng sandaang paghahandog).”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and social idea that brāhmaṇas/ascetics, through tapas and spiritual authority (prabhāva), can decisively shape outcomes—even for gods—so one should treat such power with reverence and caution.
Vāyudeva points to Indra’s epithet ‘Sahasrākṣa’ and explains it as an effect of the brāhmaṇas’ influence: their potency caused distinctive marks that became symbolically reinterpreted as ‘eyes,’ establishing Indra’s famed designation.