Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 13
Episode of King Vena: Deceptive Doctrine, Compassion, and the Contest over Dharma
अहं धर्मस्य सर्वस्वमहं पूज्यतमोसुरैः । अहं ज्ञानमहं सत्यमहं धाता सनातनः
ahaṃ dharmasya sarvasvamahaṃ pūjyatamosuraiḥ | ahaṃ jñānamahaṃ satyamahaṃ dhātā sanātanaḥ
أنا جوهر الدارما؛ وأنا الأجدر بالعبادة حتى عند الأسورا. أنا المعرفة؛ وأنا الحق؛ وأنا المُقيم المُدبِّر الأزلي.
Unspecified in the provided excerpt (context needed from surrounding verses to identify the dialogue speaker with certainty).
Concept: A personified principle claims identity with dharma, knowledge, and truth—highlighting the Purāṇic tendency to dramatize abstract tattvas as speaking agents.
Application: Discern between derived authority and ultimate authority; measure grand claims against śāstra and the fruits of conduct (humility, compassion, devotion).
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A towering, luminous figure—half-ascetic, half-divine—stands with a commanding gesture, proclaiming itself as dharma, knowledge, and truth. Behind it, a faint silhouette of Brahmā’s lotus-seat and a cosmic wheel of order suggest that this being is born from the architecture of creation itself.","primary_figures":["personified Dharma/Jñāna/Satya figure (ambiguous)","Brahmā (faintly in background as origin)"],"setting":"Celestial court-like space with lotus platforms, subtle mandala of cosmic law, and hovering palm-leaf śāstra symbols.","lighting_mood":"divine radiance","color_palette":["radiant white","sunset gold","vermillion","lapis blue","smoke violet"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: central towering personified Dharma with gold leaf aura and embossed mandala, Brahmā seated on a lotus behind in smaller scale, rich reds and greens, gem-studded ornaments, stylized śāstra scrolls and a dharma-wheel motif, ornate arch with gold filigree.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: ethereal celestial terrace with lotus pedestals, delicate facial features, translucent aura washes, cool blues and violets, fine linework for mandala patterns, Brahmā subtly indicated with a lotus seat and four faces in soft profile.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines and iconic symmetry, large-eyed personified figure with layered crowns/ascetic marks, Brahmā in the upper register, warm yellow-red-green palette, patterned borders with dharma-chakra repeats.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical mandala composition with lotus rings, central proclaiming figure framed by floral borders, deep blue ground with gold highlights, stylized conch/chakra motifs as ‘law’ emblems, peacocks and lotuses arranged symmetrically."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["conch shell","resonant drone","temple bells","wind-like whoosh"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सर्वस्वम्+अहम्→सर्वस्वमहं; पूज्यतमः+असुरैः→पूज्यतमोसुरैः; ज्ञानम्+अहम्→ज्ञानमहं; सत्यम्+अहम्→सत्यमहं.
FAQs
From this single shloka alone, the speaker cannot be identified with certainty; it is a self-declaration of a supreme principle (dharma, knowledge, truth, eternal sustainer). The surrounding verses in Adhyāya 37 are needed to name the speaker.
The verse presents dharma (right order/ethics), jñāna (true knowledge), and satya (truth) as unified in a single ultimate reality—implying that genuine righteousness is grounded in truth and realized through knowledge.
It implies that living dharma is not merely ritual or social duty: it must be aligned with truthfulness and informed understanding, oriented toward the eternal sustaining principle rather than ego or expediency.