Shloka 14

Yuga-Dharma, Kalpa Measure, Purāṇa Definitions, and the Kali-Yuga Power of Nāma-Kīrtana

Devanagari script

सर्गश्च प्रतिसर्गश्च वंशो मन्वन्तराणि च / वंशानुचरितच्चैव पुराणं पञ्चलक्षणम्

Transliteration

sargaśca pratisargaśca vaṃśo manvantarāṇi ca / vaṃśānucaritaccaiva purāṇaṃ pañcalakṣaṇam

Translation

Schöpfung und Wiederschöpfung, die Geschlechterfolgen (von Göttern und Weisen), die Zyklen der Manus und die Berichte über Dynastien—diese fünf Merkmale zusammen heißen Purāṇa.

Word by Word

• सर्गः: creation
• सर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• प्रतिसर्गः: re-creation
• प्रतिसर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रति- + सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• वंशः: lineage
• वंशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मन्वन्तराणि: Manvantaras (periods of Manus)
• मन्वन्तराणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मनूनाम् अन्तराणि)

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• वंशानुचरितत्: accounts of dynasties
• वंशानुचरितत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश + अनुचरित (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वंशानाम् अनुचरितम्)

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Discourse (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक

• पुराणम्: a Purāṇa
• पुराणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुराण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पञ्चलक्षणम्: having five characteristics
• पञ्चलक्षणम्: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च + लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास; विशेषण (of पुराणम्)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: A Purāṇa is defined by five marks: creation, dissolution/re-creation, lineages, manvantara cycles, and dynastic histories.

Vedantic Theme: Ordered knowledge (tattva-viveka through cosmology and time-cycles) as a preparatory framework for higher inquiry.

Application: When studying any Purāṇa, evaluate its structure by these five lakṣaṇas; use the framework to organize learning and teaching.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.223.15-16 (application: enumerating the 18 Purāṇas)

Characters & Entities

• Manus

FAQs

What is the importance of pañcalakṣaṇa (five marks) in the Garuda Purana?

It gives the formal criteria for identifying a text as a Purāṇa: it must teach creation, re-creation, lineages, Manvantara cycles, and dynastic histories.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by defining Purāṇic scope, it frames later teachings on karma, dharma, and afterlife within a larger cosmic timeline of creation and Manvantara order.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use it as a reading guide: when studying the Garuda Purana, connect ritual/ethical instructions to cosmology and dharma across time—seeing life and death within a structured moral universe.