Shloka 97

Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्

Devanagari script

यातुधान्युवाच नामनैरुक्तमेतत्‌ ते दुःखव्याभाषिताक्षरम्‌ | नैतद्‌ धारयितुं शक्‍्यं गच्छावतर पद्मिनीम्‌

Transliteration

yātudhānī uvāca nāma-nairuktam etat te duḥkha-vyābhāṣitākṣaram | na etad dhārayituṁ śakyaṁ gacchāvatara padminīm ||

Translation

Wika ng Yātudhānī: “O diyosa, ang paliwanag mo sa iyong pangalan ay binubuo ng mga pantig na masakit para sa akin bigkasin. Hindi ko ito kayang tandaan. Halika—pumasok ka sa lawa ng mga lotus.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'yātudhānī', 'definition': 'a female yātudhāna

• a demoness/ogress (often associated with harmful, deceptive beings)'}, {'term': 'uvāca', 'definition': 'said, spoke'}, {'term': 'nāma', 'definition': 'name'}, {'term': 'nairukta', 'definition': 'etymological explanation

• derivation/interpretation of a word (nirukta)'}, {'term': 'etat te', 'definition': 'this of yours

• this that you have (said)'}, {'term': 'duḥkha', 'definition': 'pain, difficulty, distress'}, {'term': 'vyābhāṣita', 'definition': 'pronounced/uttered (with effort)

• spoken out'}, {'term': 'akṣara', 'definition': 'syllable

• imperishable letter/sound-unit'}, {'term': 'na etad', 'definition': 'not this

• this I cannot'}, {'term': 'dhārayitum', 'definition': 'to hold, retain, remember'}, {'term': 'śakyam', 'definition': 'possible, feasible'}, {'term': 'gaccha', 'definition': 'go

• come (imperative)'}, {'term': 'avatara', 'definition': 'descend

• enter (imperative)'}, {'term': 'padminīm', 'definition': 'lotus-pond

Speaker

विश्वामित्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yātudhānī
• Devī (goddess, addressed)
• Padminī (lotus-pond)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how sacred or meaningful speech (such as a name’s etymological sense) can be resisted or rejected by those of impure intent; it implies that clarity of naming and truthful articulation carry ethical weight, while evasiveness and refusal to ‘hold’ the teaching signal deception.

What is happening in the narrative?

A demoness (Yātudhānī) responds to a goddess, claiming that the goddess’s explanation of her own name is too difficult to pronounce or remember, and then urges her to enter a lotus-pond—suggesting an attempt to divert or lure her into a situation that may be dangerous.