Shloka 20

अगस्त्य-वातापि-उपाख्यानम्

Agastya and Vātāpi: Ilvala’s stratagem; Lopāmudrā’s emergence

Devanagari script

।। यथा चेक्ष्वाकुरभवत्‌ सपुत्रजनबान्धव:

Transliteration

yathā cekṣvākur abhavat saputra-janabāndhavaḥ

Translation

“Như Ikṣvāku thuở trước đã trở nên hưng thịnh và vững bền, cùng với các con trai, thần dân và thân tộc của mình.”

Word by Word

• यथा: as, just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• इक्ष्वाकुः: Ikshvaku (the king)
• इक्ष्वाकुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: इक्ष्वाकु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अभवत्: was, became
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular

• स: he (that one)
• स: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पुत्रजनबान्धवः: one having sons, people, and kinsmen (i.e., with sons and relatives)
• पुत्रजनबान्धवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र-जन-बान्धव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ikṣvāku

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse holds up Ikṣvāku as a model of dhārmic kingship: a ruler’s success is validated when prosperity and security extend to sons, subjects, and relatives—leadership is judged by collective welfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker cites a well-known ancestral king (Ikṣvāku) as a precedent, using comparison (“just as…”) to support an argument or exhortation about how a ruler or noble person should act so that their entire circle—family and dependents—thrives.