Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 130

Pitṛmātṛtīrtha Greatness & the Discourse on Embodiment: Karma, Birth, Impurity, and Dispassion

Devanagari script

मरणं तद्विनिर्दिष्टं न नाशः परमार्थतः । महातमः प्रविष्टस्य छिद्यमानेषु मर्मसु

Transliteration

maraṇaṃ tadvinirdiṣṭaṃ na nāśaḥ paramārthataḥ | mahātamaḥ praviṣṭasya chidyamāneṣu marmasu

Translation

This is what is designated as “death”; in the highest truth it is not annihilation. It is for one who has entered profound darkness, when the vital points are being cut.

Word by Word

• मरणम्: death
• मरणम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (demonstrative)

• विनिर्दिष्टम्: is designated/defined
• विनिर्दिष्टम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-नि-√दिश् (धातु) → विनिर्दिष्ट (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (Past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

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

• नाशः: destruction
• नाशः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• परमार्थतः: in the ultimate sense
• परमार्थतः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परमार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb), अर्थः: 'in reality/ultimately'

• महा-तमः: great darkness
• महा-तमः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्रविष्टस्य: of one who has entered
• प्रविष्टस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-√विश् (धातु) → प्रविष्ट (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• छिद्यमानेषु: while being cut
• छिद्यमानेषु: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिद् (धातु) → छिद्यमान (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त/कर्मणि (Present passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• मर्मसु: in the vital parts
• मर्मसु: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (context needed to identify the dialogue speaker reliably)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: तत् + विनिर्दिष्टम् = तद्विनिर्दिष्टम्; महा-तमः (कर्मधारय); छिद्यमानेषु (कर्मणि वर्तमानकृदन्त).

FAQs

Does this verse claim that death is not the end?

Yes. It distinguishes conventional “death” from ultimate reality (paramārtha), stating that death is not true annihilation.

What is meant by “entering great darkness” (mahātamaḥ)?

It indicates profound ignorance, delusion, or loss of inner clarity, describing the dying condition as one in which awareness is obscured.

What ethical or philosophical lesson does the verse convey?

It encourages a non-materialist view of life and death: bodily destruction (even at vital points) is not equivalent to ultimate destruction of the self in the highest truth.