Shloka 59

Adhyaya 3 — The Dharmapakshis’ Past-Life Curse and Indra’s Test of Truthfulness

Sanskrit

प्रज्ञाप्राकारसंयुक्तमस्थिस्थूणं परं महत् ।

चर्मभित्तिमहारोधं मांसशोणितलेपनम् ॥

Transliteration

prajñāprākārasaṃyuktam asthisthūṇaṃ paraṃ mahat |

carma-bhitti-mahārodhaṃ māṃsa-śoṇita-lepanam ||

Translation

(Dieser Leib) ist überaus groß: versehen mit dem Bollwerk der Einsicht, mit Knochen als Pfeilern; die Haut als Mauer und eine weite Umfriedung ringsum, verputzt mit Fleisch und Blut.

Word by Word

• प्रज्ञा-प्राकार-संयुक्तम्: endowed with the rampart of wisdom
• प्रज्ञा-प्राकार-संयुक्तम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रज्ञा (प्रातिपदिक) + प्राकार (प्रातिपदिक) + संयुक्त (कृदन्त; सम्+युज् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त (क्त), विशेषण; ‘प्रज्ञा-प्राकार’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः, तेन संयुक्तम् = ‘प्रज्ञारूपप्राकारयुक्तम्’

• अस्थि-स्थूणम्: a pillar of bones
• अस्थि-स्थूणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थूण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अस्थ्नां स्थूणम्)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• महत्: great
• महत्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• चर्म-भित्ति-महा-रोधम्: a great barrier of skin-walls
• चर्म-भित्ति-महा-रोधम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + भित्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + महा (प्रातिपदिक) + रोध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: चर्म-भित्तिः (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः) + महा-रोधः (कर्मधारय) → ‘चर्मभित्तिरूपः महा-रोधः’

• मांस-शोणित-लेपनम्: a coating of flesh and blood
• मांस-शोणित-लेपनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस (प्रातिपदिक) + शोणित (प्रातिपदिक) + लेपन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मांसशोणितयोः लेपनम्)

Speakers

• Not from Devi Mahatmyam; likely within the Markandeya Purana’s early didactic narration (exact speaker pair not specified from the given excerpt).

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Philosophical allegory
• Embodiment and impermanence
• Vairagya (dispassion)
• Self-knowledge

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse frames the body as a well-built fort—intelligence as the protective rampart, bones as structural pillars, and skin as the wall—yet it is ultimately a constructed, coated assemblage of perishable materials (flesh and blood). The ethical thrust is toward detachment: do not mistake the fortified appearance of embodiment for lasting security; cultivate discernment (prajñā) and seek what is beyond the body.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This verse is not primarily sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita in content; it belongs to ancillary didactic-philosophical instruction (upadeśa) used within Purāṇic narration rather than a direct pancalakṣaṇa unit.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘fort-city’ symbolism suggests the embodied self is a defended enclosure: prajñā can serve either as worldly strategem (maintaining the fort) or as liberating discrimination (seeing the fort’s constructed nature). ‘Plastered with flesh and blood’ highlights the cosmetic covering over a skeletal frame—an inward-turning contemplation used to weaken identification with the gross body and strengthen insight into the witnessing principle.