Shloka 1

प्रलय-प्रक्रिया (Pralaya Process) — Guṇa-Withdrawal and Pratisaṃcara

Devanagari script

/ अपना बछ। अ--छकऋ-- पज्चविशर्त्याधिकद्विशततमो< ध्याय: इन्द्र और लक्ष्मीका संवाद

Transliteration

Bhīṣma uvāca: śatakratur athāpaśyad baler dehād mahātmanaḥ | svarūpiṇīṃ śarīrād dhi niṣkrāmantīṃ tadā śriyam ||

Translation

Bhīṣma thưa: Tâu Đại vương, khi ấy Indra—đấng đã cử hành trăm lễ tế—trông thấy Śrī (Lakṣmī), hiện thân trong chính dáng vẻ rực sáng của mình, đang bước ra từ ngay thân thể của bậc đại hồn Bali.

Word by Word

• भीष्मः: Bhishma
• भीष्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• शतक्रतुः: Indra (the 'hundred-sacrifices' one)
• शतक्रतुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शतक्रतु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• अपश्यत्: saw
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• बलेः: of Bali
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• देहात्: from the body
• देहात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled (one)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• स्वरूपिणीम्: embodied / having a form
• स्वरूपिणीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वरूपिणी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• शरीरात्: from the body
• शरीरात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• हि: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• निष्क्रामन्ती: departing / coming out
• निष्क्रामन्ती: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: निष्क्रम्
• Form: Present active participle (Śatṛ), Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• तदा: at that time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• श्रियम्: Sri (Lakshmi), prosperity
• श्रियम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Indra (Śatakratu)
• Bali
• Śrī (Lakṣmī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Prosperity (Śrī/Lakṣmī) is not merely material luck but a moral force tied to dharma and righteous governance; when dharma is compromised, fortune can depart even from a powerful ruler, and this departure is portrayed as an observable, consequential event.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma narrates that Indra witnesses Lakṣmī, in embodied form, emerging from King Bali’s body—signaling that Śrī is leaving Bali and setting up the ensuing dialogue about why fortune abandons one and how it is to be rightly established.