Shloka 3

Agastya’s Encounter with Ilvala and Vātāpi; Dāna, Progeny, and the Renown of Agastya-Āśrama

Devanagari script

एवमुक्त: स मुनिना महीपालो विचेतन: । प्रत्याख्यानाय चाशक्तः प्रदातुं चैव नैच्छत,मुनिवर अगस्त्यके ऐसा कहनेपर विदर्भराजके होश उड़ गये। वे न तो अस्वीकार कर सके और न उन्होंने अपनी कन्या देनेकी इच्छा ही की

Transliteration

evam uktaḥ sa muninā mahīpālo vicetanaḥ | pratyākhyānāya cāśaktaḥ pradātuṃ caiva naicchat |

Translation

Nang masabihan ng gayon ng pantas, ang hari na panginoon ng lupain ay napatigil at nalito. Hindi niya magawang tumanggi, ngunit hindi rin niya nais ibigay ang hinihingi—ang sarili niyang anak na babae.

Word by Word

एवम्thus

उक्तःhaving been spoken to / addressed

सःhe

मुनिनाby the sage

महीपालःthe king (protector of the earth)

विचेतनःbewildered / senseless

प्रत्याख्यानायfor refusal / for rejecting

चand

अशक्तःunable

प्रदातुम्to give

चand

एवindeed / just

नnot

ऐच्छत्he did not wish

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

muni (sage)

mahīpāla (the king)

Agastya (implied by context as the sage)

Vidarbha (implied by context as the king’s realm)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse portrays a dharmic conflict: reverence for a sage and the social duty to honor such a request can render a king unable to refuse, yet inner reluctance remains. It illustrates how authority and sanctity can create intense ethical pressure, testing discernment and resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the sage speaks, the king becomes stunned and conflicted. He cannot bring himself to reject the request, but he also does not want to grant it—implicitly, the giving of his daughter—showing his paralysis between obligation and personal unwillingness.