Shloka 47

Adhyaya 4 — Jaimini Meets the Dharmapakshis: Four Doubts on the Mahabharata and the Opening of Narayana Doctrine

Sanskrit

रूपवर्णादयस्तस्या न भावाः कल्पनामयाः ।

अस्त्येव सा सदा शुद्धा सुप्रतिष्ठैक रूपिणी ॥

Transliteration

rūpavarṇādayas tasyā na bhāvāḥ kalpanāmayāḥ | asty eva sā sadā śuddhā supratiṣṭhaikarūpiṇī ||

Translation

Form, color, and the like are not her real states; they are constructions born of imagination. She indeed exists—ever pure—firmly established, of one undivided nature.

Word by Word

• रूपवर्णादयः: form, color, etc.
• रूपवर्णादयः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समासः (समाहार/इतरेतर) ‘रूपं च वर्णः च’ + ‘आदयः’ = etc.

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध/Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (negation particle)

• भावाः: entities, states, attributes
• भावाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• कल्पनामयाः: imaginary, made of imagination
• कल्पनामयाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कल्पना (प्रातिपदिक) + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘कल्पनामय’ = made of imagination; ‘भावान्’ विशेषयति

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• एव: indeed, certainly
• एव: Nipāta (निपात/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• सा: she/that
• सा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kālādhi karaṇa (कालाधिकरण/Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

• शुद्धा: pure
• शुद्धा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘सा’ विशेषयति

• सुप्रतिष्ठैक-रूपिणी: of one well-established form
• सुप्रतिष्ठैक-रूपिणी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-प्रतिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (प्रातिपदिक) + रूपिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः (बहुपद) — ‘सुप्रतिष्ठा’ (well-established) + ‘एकरूपिणी’ (of one form) = of a single, well-established form

Speakers

• Philosophical narrator within the Markandeya Purana’s early discourse (non-Devi Mahatmyam section); specific speaker not identifiable from the single verse alone

Shakti Aspects

• Not explicitly Devi Mahatmya; 'sā' functions as the ever-pure Reality/ground (can be read as Brahman or as supreme Śakti in a philosophical register)

Key Themes

• Vedāntic non-dualism (nirguṇa/eka-rūpa)
• Reality beyond name-and-form
• Purity and immutability of the Absolute
• Critique of conceptual superimposition (kalpanā)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse teaches that perceived attributes (form, color, etc.) belong to the mind’s construction, not to the ultimate Reality. Ethically, it encourages detachment from surface appearances and steadiness in recognizing an unchanging, pure ground behind shifting phenomena.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This is best classified under a philosophical/ontological teaching rather than the five hallmark narrative categories. It most closely supports 'sarga' (cosmological principle) indirectly by defining the changeless substratum upon which creation and its attributes are superimposed.

What is the esoteric significance?

Esoterically, 'rūpa-varṇa' indicates nāma-rūpa (name-form) projections; 'kalpanāmayāḥ' points to adhyāropa (superimposition). 'supratiṣṭhā eka-rūpiṇī' signifies the stable, single Reality that remains untouched by mental constructions—inviting contemplative absorption beyond sensory and conceptual layers.