Shloka 50

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

Sanskrit

चतुर्थो जलमध्यस्था शेते पन्नगकल्पगा ।

रजस्तस्या गुणः सर्गं सा करोति सदैव हि ॥

Transliteration

caturtho jalamadhyasthā śete pannagatalpagā |

rajastasyā guṇaḥ sargaṃ sā karoti sadaiva hi ||

Translation

Die vierte (Stufe/Gestalt) liegt inmitten der Wasser und ruht auf dem Schlangenlager. Ihre Eigenschaft ist Rajas; wahrlich, sie bewirkt fortwährend die Schöpfung (sarga).

Word by Word

• चतुर्थः: the fourth (one/form)
• चतुर्थः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेष्य (ordinal used substantively)

• जल: of water
• जल: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-समासार्थ (समासपूर्वपद; ‘जलस्य’)

• मध्य: in the middle
• मध्य: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-समासार्थ (समासपूर्वपद; ‘मध्ये’)

• स्था: situated in the midst of the waters
• स्था: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थ (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from √स्था, ‘standing/being situated’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—जल+मध्य+स्था (जलमध्यस्था) = ‘जलमध्यस्थिता’

• शेते: lies (reclines)
• शेते: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शी (धातु; √शी/√शि ‘to lie down/sleep’)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• पन्नग: of the serpent
• पन्नग: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पन्नग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-समासार्थ (समासपूर्वपद; ‘पन्नगस्य’)

• तल्प: bed; couch
• तल्प: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-समासार्थ (समासपूर्वपद; ‘तल्पे’)

• गा: resting on the serpent-couch
• गा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from √गम् ‘to go’, here ‘going/lying upon’ in compound usage)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—पन्नग+तल्प+गा (पन्नगकल्पगा) = ‘पन्नगतल्पे गच्छति/शेते’ → ‘lying on the serpent-bed’

• रजः: rajas (activity/passion)
• रजः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• गुणः: quality; attribute
• गुणः: Pradhāna (प्रधान/Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सर्गम्: creation; emanation
• सर्गम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• करोति: does; brings about
• करोति: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kāla (काल/Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/particle (emphasis)

• हि: for; indeed
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (reason/emphasis)

Speakers

• Unclear from the single verse excerpt (context suggests a narrator describing cosmic functions rather than the Devi Mahatmya frame).

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (implied by ‘serpent-couch in the cosmic waters’ motif, i.e., Ananta/Śeṣa-bed in the Kṣīra-samudra)

Shakti Aspects

• Not explicitly a named Devī-form; feminine pronoun suggests a śakti/personified power associated with rajas and creation.

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Sarga (Creation)
• Guṇa theory (Rajas)
• Śakti as functional power

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Creation is presented as a guṇa-driven function: rajas (activity) is the operative principle that continually initiates and sustains ‘sarga’. The verse frames cosmic process as orderly and cyclic—activity (rajas) is necessary for manifestation, while other guṇas govern other cosmic functions.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

This verse falls under Sarga (primary creation/emanation), explicitly naming ‘sarga’ and linking it to the rājasa principle that produces manifestation.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘reclining in the waters upon the serpent-couch’ symbolizes the unmanifest causal state (cosmic waters) supporting the emergence of the manifest universe. The serpent-bed (Ananta/Śeṣa) can signify endless time/cycles, while rajas indicates the stirring of dynamism within the causal matrix that precipitates creation.