Shloka 24

Devanagari script

सन्ति पुत्रा: सुबहवो दरिद्राणामनिच्छताम्‌ । नास्ति पुत्र: समृद्धानां विचित्र विधिचेष्टितम्‌

Transliteration

santi putrāḥ subahavo daridrāṇām anicchatām | nāsti putraḥ samṛddhānāṃ vicitra-vidhi-ceṣṭitam ||

Translation

遮那迦说道：命运分配世间福祉，常出人意料。贫者纵不求子，往往反得多子；富者之中，却有人连一子也不可得。由此可知，造化之主的安排实在奇异——提醒人们不可仅以外在富贵来衡量功德与幸福。

Word by Word

• सन्ति: are / exist
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम, बहुवचन

• पुत्राः: sons/children
• पुत्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सुबहवः: very many
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• दरिद्राणाम्: of the poor
• Type: Noun
• Root: दरिद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• अनिच्छताम्: of those not desiring (them)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनिच्छत् (नञ् + इच्छत्; √इष्/इच्छ्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अस्ति: is / exists
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम, एकवचन

• पुत्रः: a son/child
• पुत्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• समृद्धानाम्: of the prosperous/wealthy
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• विचित्रम्: wonderful/strange
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विचित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• विधि-चेष्टितम्: the working/dispensation of fate
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि + चेष्टित (प्रातिपदिक; चेष्टित = √चेष्ट् क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

जनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janaka
• Vidhi (the Ordainer/Fate)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Worldly outcomes such as wealth and progeny do not reliably correspond to desire, effort, or even apparent merit; destiny operates in complex ways. The verse encourages humility, non-judgment, and a measure of detachment from external markers of success.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janaka is reflecting on the unpredictability of human fortunes. He points to a social observation—poor people may have many children despite not seeking them, while some rich people remain without a son—to illustrate the mysterious workings of fate (vidhi).