Shloka 70

Kāraṇa-vyākhyā: Cosmic Agents, Rudra-Forms, Sense-Purity, and Ānanda-Tāratamya

Devanagari script

जज्ञे पुनर्मेनकायां हिमाद्रेस्तदा रुद्रस्त्वौर्वसंज्ञा मवाप / ऊर्ध्वरेता भवेत्युक्त्वा ऊर्ध्वरेता बभूव ह

Transliteration

jajñe punarmenakāyāṃ himādrestadā rudrastvaurvasaṃjñā mavāpa / ūrdhvaretā bhavetyuktvā ūrdhvaretā babhūva ha

Translation

He was born again from Menakā upon the Himalayan mountain; then Rudra obtained the name Aurva. Having declared, “Let him be an ūrdhvaretā (a celibate ascetic whose vital seed is directed upward),” he indeed became an ūrdhvaretā.

Word by Word

• jajñe: was born
• jajñe: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• punar: again
• punar: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति/पुनः (adverb: again)

• menakāyām: in Menakā
• menakāyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: menakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), सप्तमी विभक्ति (locative/7th), एकवचन (sg.)

• himādreḥ: of Himādri (the हिमालय)
• himādreḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: himādri (प्रातिपदिक: hima+adri)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), षष्ठी विभक्ति (genitive/6th), एकवचन (sg.); समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (himasya adriḥ)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: then)

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• rudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा विभक्ति (nominative/1st), एकवचन (sg.)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• aurvasaṃjñām: the name ‘Aurva’
• aurvasaṃjñām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aurva-saṃjñā (प्रातिपदिक: aurva+saṃjñā)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (sg.); समासः कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (aurvā saṃjñā = ‘name Aurva’)

• avāpa: obtained/received
• avāpa: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु) उपसर्ग: ava-
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg.)

• ūrdhvaretāḥ: one of upward semen (celibate)
• ūrdhvaretāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ūrdhva-retas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा विभक्ति (nom./1st), एकवचन (sg.); बहुव्रीहि: ‘whose semen is upward’ (celibate)

• bhavet: may he be / should be
• bhavet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लोट्/विधिलिङ्-रूप (optative/imperative sense), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg.)

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal); ‘having said’

• ūrdhvaretāḥ: ūrdhvaretā (celibate)
• ūrdhvaretāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ūrdhva-retas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा विभक्ति (nom./1st), एकवचन (sg.)

• babhūva: became
• babhūva: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg.)

• ha: indeed/forsooth
• ha: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ha (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle, narrative)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Brahmacarya/ūrdhvaretā symbolizes sublimation of vital energy toward higher realization; renaming indicates transformation through tapas and divine ordinance.

Vedantic Theme: Indriya-nigraha and ojas-tejas cultivation as supports for jñāna; inner transmutation over outward identity.

Application: Practice disciplined restraint (brahmacarya in appropriate form), conserve energy, and channel it into study, meditation, and devotion.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: mountain

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: praise of tapas, brahmacarya, and purity as dharma supports (thematic).

Characters & Entities

• Menaka
• Himalaya (Himadri)
• Rudra (Shiva)
• Aurva

FAQs

What is the importance of being an ūrdhvaretā in the Garuda Purana?

This verse treats ūrdhvaretā as a deliberate spiritual state—vital energy is conserved and sublimated upward—signifying ascetic power and disciplined brahmacharya rather than worldly procreation.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Instead of afterlife geography, the verse highlights a cause for spiritual potency in embodied life: a divinely affirmed ascetic orientation (ūrdhvaretā) that supports higher realization and tapas.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Practice disciplined self-restraint (brahmacharya in thought and conduct), channel energy into study, japa, and service, and treat vitality as a resource for spiritual growth rather than impulsive consumption.