Shloka 48

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

Devanagari script

ऋषय ऊचु: कुशलं सह दानेन तस्मै यस्य प्रजा इमा: । फलान्युपधियुक्तानि य एवं न: प्रयच्छति

Transliteration

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ: kuśalaṃ saha dānena tasmai yasya prajā imāḥ | phalāny upadhiyuktāni ya evaṃ naḥ prayacchati ||

Translation

Các hiền triết nói: “Nguyện sự an lành đi cùng vị vua ấy, cùng với lễ bố thí của ông—vị vua mà thần dân đã mang đến những trái cây vấy bẩn bởi mưu trá, và dưới cái cớ dâng trái cây, lại trao cho chúng ta vàng. Nguyện ông được bình an và thịnh vượng, song hành với hành vi hiến tặng ấy.”

Word by Word

• ऋषयः: sages
• ऋषयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ऊचुः: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• कुशलम्: welfare, well-being
• कुशलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुशल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सह: together with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह

• दानेन: with (his) gift/charity
• दानेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• यस्य: whose
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• प्रजाः: subjects, people
• प्रजाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• इमाः: these
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• फलानि: fruits
• फलानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• उपधि-युक्तानि: endowed with a pretext/guile (as a cover)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपधि-युक्त
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एवम्: thus, in this manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• नः: to us
• नः: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: 1st, Dative, Plural

• प्रयच्छति: gives, bestows
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-यम्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

पशुसख उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ṛṣayaḥ (sages)
• prajāḥ (subjects/people)
• phala (fruits)
• suvarṇa (gold, implied by the Hindi gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension between outward acts and inner intent: even when a gift is routed through a deceptive pretext (fruits used as a cover), the act is still framed as dāna, and the sages respond with a blessing for the giver’s welfare—inviting reflection on how charity, motive, and social propriety interact in dharma discourse.

What is happening in the narrative?

A king (through his subjects) presents fruits that are ‘upadhi-yukta’—serving as a pretext—while actually giving valuable wealth (gold) to the sages. The sages recognize the stratagem and pronounce a benediction: may the king remain well and prosperous together with his gift.