Shloka 8

Gālava Completes the Horse-Gift: Garuḍa’s Counsel and Viśvāmitra’s Acceptance (गालव-विष्वामित्र-सम्बन्धः)

Devanagari script

न पुत्रफलभोक्ता हि राजर्षे पात्यते दिव: । न याति नरकं घोर यथा गच्छन्त्यनात्मजा:,*राजर्षे! पुत्रजनित पुण्यफलका उपभोग करनेवाला मनुष्य कभी स्वर्गसे नीचे नहीं गिराया जाता और संतानहीन मनुष्य जिस प्रकार घोर नरकमें पड़ते हैं, उस प्रकार वह नहीं पड़ता”

Transliteration

na putraphalabhoktā hi rājarṣe pātyate divaḥ | na yāti narakaṃ ghoraṃ yathā gacchanty anātmajāḥ ||

Translation

那罗陀说道：“噢，王者圣贤，享受因得子而生之功德者，决不会自天界被抛落；也不会如无子之人所传那般，堕入可怖的地狱。”

Word by Word

नnot

पुत्रफलभोक्ताenjoyer of the fruit (merit) arising from a son

हिindeed/for

राजर्षेO royal sage

पात्यतेis made to fall / is cast down

दिवःfrom heaven

नnot

यातिgoes

नरकम्to hell

घोरम्terrible

यथाas/just as

गच्छन्तिgo

अनात्मजाःthose without sons / sonless men

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

rājarṣi (royal sage, addressee)

svarga (heaven)

naraka (hell)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts a traditional dharma-idea: progeny—especially a son—generates ongoing religious merit (puṇya) through lineage duties and rites, and one who enjoys that ‘fruit of a son’ is protected from spiritual downfall and the fate attributed to the childless.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada addresses a ‘rājarṣi’ (a king of sage-like conduct) and offers counsel framed in afterlife consequences, using heaven and hell as moral incentives to emphasize the value of having offspring within the dharma framework.