Shloka 83

Parīkṣit-janma-saṃkaṭa and Kuntī’s petition to Vāsudeva (परिक्षिज्जन्मसंकटं कुन्त्याः प्रार्थना च)

Devanagari script

नक्तंचराणां भूतानां व्यादिदेश बलिं तदा | तदनन्तर पुरोहितने घड़ोंमें भात भरकर बलि अर्पित की। इसके बाद भूपालने ब्राह्मणोंको सहस्रों गौएँ देकर निशाचारी भूतोंको भी बलि भेंट की

Transliteration

naktaṃcarāṇāṃ bhūtānāṃ vyādideśa baliṃ tadā |

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那曰：其时，国王下令，亦当向夜行之灵众奉献供施（bali）。依仪轨所载周全待客之责，祭司以熟饭盛于器皿，陈设为供。继而，君主又以数千头牛敬施婆罗门，并将献予夜游诸类之供品一并圆满，不遗任何受施之众。

Word by Word

• नक्तंचराणाम्: of the night-roaming (beings)
• नक्तंचराणाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्तंचर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• भूतानाम्: of the spirits/beings
• भूतानाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• व्यादिदेश: ordered/commanded
• व्यादिदेश: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + दिश्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• बलिम्: offering/tribute
• बलिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तदा: then/at that time
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana)
• भूपाल (the king/ruler)
• पुरोहित (purohita, priest)
• ब्राह्मण (Brahmins)
• गौः/गवः (cows, as gifts)
• भूत (bhūtas, spirits)
• नक्तंचर (night-roaming beings)
• बलि (ritual offering)
• भात (cooked rice, as offering)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage emphasizes ritual completeness and dharmic responsibility: a righteous ruler ensures that prescribed offerings and gifts are not neglected, combining ritual obligation (bali) with ethical generosity (gifting cows to Brahmins).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that the king orders an offering (bali) for nocturnal spirits; rice is presented as the oblation, and afterward the king donates thousands of cows to Brahmins, completing the ritual sequence of offerings and gifts.