Shloka 48

Adhyaya 57 — The Ninefold Divisions of Bharata: Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples

Sanskrit

पौरिका मौलिकाश्चैव अश्मका भोगवर्धनाः ।

नैषिकाः कुन्तला अन्धा उदिभदा वनदारकाः ॥

Transliteration

paurikā maulikāścaiva aśmakā bhogavardhanāḥ / naiṣikāḥ kuntalā andhā udibhadā vanadārakāḥ

Translation

Die Paurikas und die Maulikas; die Aśmakas und die Bhogavardhanas; die Naiṣikas, die Kuntalas, die Andhas, die Udibhadās und die Vanadārakas.

Word by Word

• पौरिकाः: Paurikas (townsmen/people called Paurika)
• पौरिकाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पौरिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• मौलिकाः: Maulikas (a people)
• मौलिकाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मौलिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (and)

• एव: indeed/also
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• अश्मकाः: Aśmakas (people of Aśmaka)
• अश्मकाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• भोगवर्धनाः: Bhogavardhanas (prosperity-increasers; a people)
• भोगवर्धनाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोग + वर्धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘भोगस्य वर्धनाः’ (increasers of enjoyment/prosperity)

• नैषिकाः: Naiṣikas (a people)
• नैषिकाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैषिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कुन्तलाः: Kuntalas (people of Kuntala)
• कुन्तलाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुन्तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अन्धाः: Andhas (a people)
• अन्धाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• उदिभदाः: Udibhadas (a people)
• उदिभदाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदिभद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वनदारकाः: Vanadārakas (forest-dwellers; a people)
• वनदारकाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन + दारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘वनस्य दारकाः’ (children/inhabitants of the forest)

Speakers

• Not Devī Māhātmya; part of a janapada list.

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Geography
• Ethnography
• South/Deccan regions (probable)
• Janapada lists

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By enumerating communities—settled and forest—Purāṇic geography frames the human world as ordered and knowable, suitable for pilgrimage, governance, and dharma.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary descriptive material supporting vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita narratives; not a core pancalakṣaṇa item, but commonly embedded within them.

What is the esoteric significance?

Names function like ‘seed-points’ in a sacred cartography, suggesting that dharma extends across linguistic and tribal boundaries.