Shloka 31

Prameha-Nidāna-Lakṣaṇa-Bheda: Etiology, Signs, Varieties, and Complications of Meha

Devanagari script

सर्षपोपमसंस्थाना जिह्वापाकमहारुजा / पुत्रिणी महती चाल्पा सुसूक्ष्मा पिडिका स्मृता

Transliteration

sarṣapopamasaṃsthānā jihvāpākamahārujā / putriṇī mahatī cālpā susūkṣmā piḍikā smṛtā

Translation

Die pīḍikā wird als einem Senfkorn ähnlich geformt beschrieben und verursacht wegen einer Geschwürbildung an der Zunge heftigen Schmerz; sie kann eitern, bald groß bald klein sein und mitunter äußerst fein erscheinen.

Word by Word

• सर्षपोपमसंस्थाना: having a form comparable to a mustard seed
• सर्षपोपमसंस्थाना: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्षप (प्रातिपदिक) + उपम (प्रातिपदिक) + संस्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (सर्षपस्य उपमा यस्याः तादृशं संस्थानम्) विशेषण (fem. nom. sg.)

• जिह्वापाकमहारुजा: with great pain from tongue-inflammation/ulceration
• जिह्वापाकमहारुजा: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जिह्वा (प्रातिपदिक) + पाक (प्रातिपदिक) + महा (प्रातिपदिक) + रुजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (जिह्वायाः पाकः; तस्मात् महती रुजा) विशेषण (fem. nom. sg.)

• पुत्रिणी: having ‘offspring’/sprouting (many-headed)
• पुत्रिणी: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुत्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (fem. nom. sg.)

• महती: large
• महती: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (fem. nom. sg.)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordinator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• अल्पा: small
• अल्पा: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (fem. nom. sg.)

• सुसूक्ष्मा: very minute
• सुसूक्ष्मा: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (अव्यय/उपसर्गवत्) + सूक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (सु-इति उपपदेन अतिशयः) विशेषण (fem. nom. sg.)

• पिडिका: pustule/papule
• पिडिका: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिडिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• स्मृता: is called/considered
• स्मृता: Kriya-visheshana / Vidheya (Predicative adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) → स्मृत (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle: ‘is called/remembered’)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (teaching Garuda/Vinatā-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Lakṣaṇa-parīkṣā: defining a condition by upamāna (analogy) and symptom cluster (shape, pain, suppuration, size).

Vedantic Theme: Order through correct cognition—naming and distinguishing phenomena reduces error (bhrānti) in action.

Application: Recognize pīḍikā by mustard-seed-like form and severe pain (notably with tongue ulceration), noting whether it is suppurating and its size spectrum.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.159: pīḍikā varieties and doṣa involvement discussed in surrounding verses

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the Garuda Purana?

It precisely defines a specific painful condition (piḍikā) by size, form, and symptoms, reflecting the text’s diagnostic-style descriptions used in broader discussions of suffering and its causes.

How does this verse relate to the Garuda Purana’s teaching on suffering?

By detailing the intensity and nature of pain (mahā-rujā) and bodily affliction, it supports the Purana’s wider framework where embodied experiences can be read in relation to actions and consequences.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use it as a reminder to treat speech and diet carefully (tongue-related ailments) and to respond to suffering with discipline, ethical restraint, and timely care rather than neglect.