Shloka 3

Yoga-Sleep, Cosmic Dissolution, and the Lotus of Creation

with Mārkaṇḍeya’s Vision

Devanagari script

कथं पाद्मे महाकल्पेऽभवत्पद्ममयं जगत् । जलार्णवगतस्येह नाभौ जातं जलानुगं

Transliteration

kathaṃ pādme mahākalpe'bhavatpadmamayaṃ jagat | jalārṇavagatasyeha nābhau jātaṃ jalānugaṃ

Translation

Wie wurde im großen Pādma-Mahākalpa das Weltall lotusgestaltig? Und wie entstand hier ein Lotus—den Wassern folgend—aus dem Nabel dessen, der im wässrigen Ozean ruhte?

Word by Word

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• पाद्मे: in the Pādma (Padma-related)
• पाद्मे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाद्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘महाकल्पे’ इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम् (in the Padma-)

• महाकल्पे: in the great aeon (mahākalpa)
• महाकल्पे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् कल्पः)

• अभवत्: came to be
• अभवत्: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• पद्म-मयम्: made of lotus
• पद्म-मयम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पद्म (प्रातिपदिक) + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तद्धितार्थे/मयट्-अर्थक; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (पद्मेन मयम् = made of lotus)

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• जल-अर्णव-गतस्य: of (him) who had gone into the ocean of water
• जल-अर्णव-गतस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक) + गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (जलस्य अर्णवः → जलार्णवः; जलार्णवे गतः)

• इह: here
• इह: Deśādhikaraṇa (देशाधिकरण/Place adjunct)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (here)

• नाभौ: in the navel
• नाभौ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाभि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• जातम्: born/arisen
• जातम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘पद्मम्’ (अनुक्तम्) इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• जल-अनुगम्: connected with/following the water
• जल-अनुगम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (जलम् अनुगम् = following/connected with water)

Speaker

Unspecified in the provided excerpt (a question posed by an inquirer to a narrator/teacher).

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: celestial_realm

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: महाकल्पेऽभवत् → महाकल्पे + अभवत्; अभवत्पद्ममयं → अभवत् + पद्ममयम्; जलार्णवगतस्येह → जलार्णवगतस्य + इह

FAQs

What cosmological idea is this verse asking about?

It asks about the ‘lotus-form’ creation motif of the Pādma Mahākalpa—specifically the emergence of a lotus from the navel of the cosmic being resting in the primeval waters, a common Purāṇic image associated with creation.

How does this verse connect to Vaishnava theology in the Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa?

The navel-lotus imagery typically points to Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa as the cosmic foundation from whom creation unfolds, aligning the creation narrative with a Vaishnava-centered cosmogony.

What ethical or philosophical lesson is implied by the question?

It frames creation as purposeful and ordered rather than random—encouraging inquiry into first principles (tattva-jijñāsā) and reverence for the sustaining source behind the cosmos.