Shloka 74

Adhyaya 58 — The Kurma-Form of Narayana: Mapping Bharata through Nakshatras, Regions, and Planetary Afflictions

Sanskrit

नारायणो ह्यचिन्त्यात्मा यत्र सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम् ।

तत्र देवाः स्थिताः सर्वे प्रतिनक्षत्रसंश्रयाः ॥

Transliteration

nārāyaṇo hyacintyātmā yatra sarvaṃ pratiṣṭhitam / tatra devāḥ sthitāḥ sarve pratinakṣatrasaṃśrayāḥ

Translation

Nārāyaṇa, dessen Wesen unbegreiflich ist, ist das, worin alles gegründet ist. Dort weilen alle Götter, und ein jeder nimmt Stütze gemäß seinem jeweiligen Nakṣatra.

Word by Word

• नारायणः: Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणः: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: सम्बन्धसूचक (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—निपात (particle), अवधान/हेतु-प्राय

• अचिन्त्यात्मा: whose nature is inconceivable / the inconceivable Self
• अचिन्त्यात्मा: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject-appositive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अचिन्त्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—अचिन्त्यः आत्मा यस्य/अचिन्त्य आत्मा (as appositive to नारायणः)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: अधिकरण (Locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक (relative adverb: locative sense)

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject of passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘प्रतिष्ठितम्’ इत्यस्य कर्तृ (passive)

• प्रतिष्ठितम्: is established/rests
• प्रतिष्ठितम्: क्रिया (Predicate; passive participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स्थापित/आश्रित’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—देशवाचक (correlative adverb)

• देवाः: the gods
• देवाः: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• स्थिताः: are situated/stand
• स्थिताः: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle/क्त; intransitive sense), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘देवाः’

• प्रति-नक्षत्र-संश्रयाः: resting in/assigned to each nakṣatra
• प्रति-नक्षत्र-संश्रयाः: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय) + नक्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + संश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अव्ययीभावः—प्रति-नक्षत्रम् (each asterism) इति अव्ययपूर्वकः, ततः ‘संश्रय’ (resting/depending) विशेषणम्

Speakers

• Continuing cosmological exposition (speaker not explicitly re-identified here)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Nārāyaṇa
• Devas (collectively)

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Theism (Viṣṇu as substratum)
• Nakṣatra-deity correspondences

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse asserts a theistic metaphysics: even diverse divine powers and astral deities ultimately depend on a single ground (Nārāyaṇa). Ethically, it encourages unified devotion and humility regarding secondary powers.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Cosmological grounding of the universe in a supreme principle fits within Sarga/Pratisarga-type material (the ordering and sustaining principle of the cosmos).

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Each nakṣatra has its devatā’ is read as a mapping of consciousness/energies into a celestial grid, but the grid itself rests in the ‘acintya’ (beyond conceptualization), pointing to a non-reductive unity.