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Shloka 48

Adhyaya 4 — Jaimini Meets the Dharmapakshis: Four Doubts on the Mahabharata and the Opening of Narayana Doctrine

Sanskrit

द्वितीया पृथिवीं मूर्ध्ना शेषाख्या धारयत्यधः । तामसी सा समाख्याता तिर्यक्त्वं समुपाश्रिता ॥

Transliteration

dvitīyā pṛthivīṃ mūrdhnā śeṣākhyā dhārayaty adhaḥ | tāmasī sā samākhyātā tiryaktvaṃ samupāśritā ||

Translation

Die zweite Stütze der Erde, Śeṣa genannt, trägt die Erde unten auf seinem Haupt. Man sagt, er sei von tāmasischer Natur (tāmasika), indem er den Zustand eines tierischen Wesens (tiryak) angenommen hat.

Word by Word
द्वितीयाthe second
द्वितीया:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeAdjective
Rootद्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘मूर्तिः’ (अनुक्ता) विशेषण
पृथिवीम्the earth
पृथिवीम्:
Karma (कर्म/Object)
TypeNoun
Rootपृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
मूर्ध्नाwith (her) head
मूर्ध्ना:
Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
TypeNoun
Rootमूर्धन् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन
शेषाख्याcalled ‘Śeṣa’
शेषाख्या:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
TypeAdjective
Rootशेष (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘शेष-आख्या’ = named Śeṣa
धारयतिsupports, holds
धारयति:
Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
TypeVerb
Rootधृ (धातु)
Formलट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन
अधःbelow, downwards
अधः:
Deśādhikaraṇa (देशाधिकरण/Locative adverbial)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअधः (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय (adverb of place)
तामसीtāmasic, of darkness
तामसी:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
TypeAdjective
Rootतामस (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘सा’ विशेषण
साshe/that
सा:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootतद् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम
समाख्याताis designated/called
समाख्याता:
Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicate participle)
TypeVerb
Rootसम्-आ-ख्या (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
Formभूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), क्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अर्थः—‘समाख्याता’ = is called/has been designated
तिर्यक्त्वम्animality, the state of being horizontal/animal
तिर्यक्त्वम्:
Karma (कर्म/Object)
TypeNoun
Rootतिर्यक्त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक-तद्धित (त्व)
समुपाश्रिताhaving assumed/resorted to
समुपाश्रिता:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
TypeVerb
Rootसम्-उप-आ-श्रि (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
Formभूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), क्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अर्थः—‘आश्रिता’ = having resorted to/assumed
Speakers
Not within the Devi Mahatmyam frame; cosmological narration (speaker varies by recension; typically a narrator within the Purāṇic discourse)
Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities
Śeṣa (Ananta)
Key Themes
CosmologyPuranic GeographyGuṇa theory (tamas)Mythic ontology (tiryak-yoni)

FAQs

The verse links cosmic function with guṇa-classification: even a being described as ‘tiryak’ (animal-form) can bear an immense dhāraṇa (supporting) role. It underscores Purāṇic hierarchy based not merely on form but on function and guṇas—tamas is associated with heaviness, stability, and inertia, fitting the motif of ‘bearing’ the earth.

Primarily within Sarga/Pratisarga-style cosmological description (creation/arrangement of the worlds and their supports). It is not Manvantara or Vaṃśānucarita in this verse; it contributes to the structural mapping of the universe typical of sarga-related material.

Śeṣa as the ‘remainder’ (that which remains) symbolizes the enduring substrate that persists through cycles. Calling him tāmasic and ‘tiryak’ encodes the idea that the foundational support of manifested reality is dense, stable, and burden-bearing (tamas), while consciousness and illumination (sattva) appear ‘above’ upon that support. The ‘head-bearing’ imagery also suggests the axis of support (adhiṣṭhāna) upon which the world-order rests.

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