Vamana Purana — Sukesha's Boon & Twelve Dharmas, Shloka 43

Sukesha’s Boon, the Twelve Dharmas of Beings, and the Cosmography of the Seven Dvipas with the Twenty-One Hells

Devanagari script

एवं द्वीपास्त्विमे सप्त पृथग्धर्माः पृथक्क्रियाः गदिष्यामस्तव वयं शृमुष्व त्वं निशाचर

Transliteration

evaṃ dvīpāstvime sapta pṛthagdharmāḥ pṛthakkriyāḥ gadiṣyāmastava vayaṃ śṛmuṣva tvaṃ niśācara

Translation

وهكذا فإن هذه القارات السبع لها دَهرمات (واجبات) متمايزة، ولها كِرْيَات (ممارسات/شعائر) متباينة. سنقصّها عليك—فاستمع، يا سائرَ الليل (niśācara).

Word by Word

• evaṃ: thus
• evaṃ: Sambandha/Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evaṃ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय); adverb

• dvīpāḥ: islands
• dvīpāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• tu: but; indeed
• tu: Sambandha (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय); conjunction/particle (निपात) expressing contrast/emphasis

• ime: these
• ime: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); demonstrative used adjectivally

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral (संख्या), indeclinable-like in form; used as adjective to dvīpāḥ

• pṛthak-dharmāḥ: having distinct laws/dharma
• pṛthak-dharmāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pṛthak (अव्यय) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); ‘separate in dharma’

• pṛthak-kriyāḥ: having distinct practices/rites
• pṛthak-kriyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pṛthak (अव्यय) + kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with implied feminine plural (kriyāḥ) as predicate/attribute

• gadiṣyāmaḥ: we shall tell
• gadiṣyāmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gad (गद्/वदने) (धातु)
• Form: Luṭ (लुट्—periphrastic future), 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• tava: to you / of you
• tava: Sampradāna/Recipient (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular (एकवचन); pronoun

• vayam: we
• vayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); pronoun

• śṛṇuṣva: listen
• śṛṇuṣva: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रवणे) (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ (लोट्—imperative), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद) form ‘śṛṇuṣva’

• tvam: you
• tvam: Sambodhyam/Karta (सम्बोध्य/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); pronoun

• niśācara: O night-roamer (demon)
• niśācara: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśā + cara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन); संबोधन

Speakers

• Unspecified in provided excerpt (likely within the Purāṇic dialogue frame
• commonly Pulastya → Nārada; here addressing a 'niśācara')

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Sacred Geography
• Dharma (regional/customary)
• Purāṇic didactic narration

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Dharma is presented as context-sensitive: different regions (dvīpas) can sustain different normative practices without negating the overarching Purāṇic moral order.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily within Sarga (cosmological description of the world’s structure) and ancillary cosmography typical of Purāṇas.

What is the symbolic significance?

The ‘seven dvīpas’ model symbolizes a graded, orderly cosmos where variety of practice (kriyā) coexists under a single cosmic law (dharma).