Shloka 20

Adhyaya 6 — Balarama’s Dilemma, Drunken Wanderings in Revata’s Grove, and the Slaying of the Suta

Sanskrit

सरांसि च मनोज्ञानि प्रसन्नसलिलानि च ।

कुमुदैः पुण्डरीकैश्च तथा नीलोत्पलैः शुभैः ॥

Transliteration

sarāṁsi ca manojñāni prasanna-salilāni ca |

kumudaiḥ puṇḍarīkaiś ca tathā nīlotpalaiḥ śubhaiḥ ||

Translation

Und es gab liebliche Seen mit klarem, stillem Wasser, geschmückt mit weißen Kumuda-Seerosen, weißen Puṇḍarīka-Lotussen und glückverheißenden blauen Nīlotpala-Lotussen.

Word by Word

• sarāṃsi: lakes
• sarāṃsi: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• mano-jñāni: pleasing to the mind
• mano-jñāni: Karta (कर्ता/Subject-Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक) + jña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मनसः ज्ञ/प्रियाणि)

• prasanna-salilāni: having clear water
• prasanna-salilāni: Karta (कर्ता/Subject-Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prasanna (प्रातिपदिक) + salila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); समासः—कर्मधारय (प्रसन्नं सलिलं येषाम्)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• kumudaiḥ: with white water-lilies (kumuda)
• kumudaiḥ: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumuda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• puṇḍarīkaiḥ: with lotuses (puṇḍarīka)
• puṇḍarīkaiḥ: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇḍarīka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb/प्रकारवाचक अव्यय

• nīla-utpalaiḥ: with blue lotuses
• nīla-utpalaiḥ: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nīla (प्रातिपदिक) + utpala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); समासः—कर्मधारय (नीलानि उत्पलानि)

• śubhaiḥ: beautiful
• śubhaiḥ: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); नीलोत्पलैः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speakers

• Narratorial description (frame-speaker not explicit from the single verse excerpt)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Sacred geography (tīrtha/nature imagery)
• Auspicious landscape description
• Purāṇic poetic ornament (prakṛti-varṇana)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse uses an auspicious natural scene—clear waters and lotus-blooms—to signal harmony (prasāda) and purity (śuddhi). In Purāṇic narrative, such landscape-description often prepares the reader for dharmic discourse or sacred events by establishing a sattvic atmosphere.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This verse is not directly sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṁśa/vaṁśānucarita in content; it functions as narrative setting (ākhyāna/varṇana) that supports the broader vaṁśānucarita or dialogue portions of the Purāṇa rather than constituting a pancalakṣaṇa item itself.

What is the esoteric significance?

The lotus imagery can be read symbolically: the calm lake is the clarified mind (citta-prasāda), while the lotuses—white and blue—suggest unfolding awareness and auspicious qualities arising from inner stillness. Such symbolism is common in Indic contemplative literature even when the immediate passage is purely descriptive.