Shloka 47

Pitāmaha-sabhā-varṇana & Hariścandra-māhātmya

Description of Brahmā’s Assembly and the Eminence of Hariścandra

Devanagari script

सोमपा एकशज्जश्व चतुर्वेदा: कलास्तथा । एते चतुर्षु वर्णेषु पूज्यन्ते पितरो नृप

Transliteration

somapā ekaśajjaśva caturvedāḥ kalās tathā | ete caturṣu varṇeṣu pūjyante pitaro nṛpa ||

Translation

那罗陀说道：“大王啊，献苏摩者（Somapā）、行埃迦舍阇与阿湿婆诸仪者、通晓四吠陀者、精于诸艺者——在四姓之中，正是借由这些人，祖灵毗特利（Pitṛs）得以尤为受敬，依法受祭。”

Word by Word

• सोमपाः: Soma-drinkers (a class of ancestors/ritualists)
• सोमपाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोमप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• एकशत्: one hundred
• एकशत्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकशत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• यश्व: Yashva (a named class/person; reading uncertain)
• यश्व: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्वेदाः: the four Vedas / those versed in the four Vedas
• चतुर्वेदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• कलाः: arts/branches (of knowledge)
• कलाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: also/likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एते: these
• एते: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• चतुर्षु: in (the) four
• चतुर्षु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Plural

• वर्णेषु: in the social classes (varṇas)
• वर्णेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• पूज्यन्ते: are worshipped/are honored
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Passive (Ātmanepada-form)

• पितरः: the ancestors (Pitṛs)
• पितरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• the four varṇas
• Soma
• the four Vedas
• Ekāśajja rite
• Aśva rite (Aśvamedha-related)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links social and religious responsibility to honoring the ancestors: those devoted to Vedic learning, major sacrifices, and cultivated disciplines become key supports for Pitṛ-worship across all four varṇas, emphasizing continuity of tradition and duty to forebears.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada addresses a king and describes which kinds of people are especially revered in society because their conduct—sacrifice, Vedic mastery, and disciplined skills—upholds rites through which the ancestors are honored.