Shloka 153

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

with Mārkaṇḍeya’s Vision

Devanagari script

पद्मं नाभ्युद्भवं चैकं समुत्पादितवांस्ततः । सहस्त्रवर्णं विरजं भास्कराभं हिरण्मयम्

Transliteration

padmaṃ nābhyudbhavaṃ caikaṃ samutpāditavāṃstataḥ | sahastravarṇaṃ virajaṃ bhāskarābhaṃ hiraṇmayam

Translation

Then he brought forth a single lotus that arose from the navel—of a thousand hues, stainless, radiant like the sun, and golden.

Word by Word

• पद्मम्: lotus
• पद्मम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• नाभ्युद्भवम्: navel-born
• नाभ्युद्भवम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाभि (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘नाभेः उद्भवः’ (arisen from the navel)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• एकम्: one / single
• एकम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; (qualifying पद्मम्)

• समुत्पादितवान्: produced
• समुत्पादितवान्: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + उत् + पद् (धातु)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘having produced’

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverb)

• सहस्त्रवर्णम्: of a thousand colors
• सहस्त्रवर्णम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘सहस्रं वर्णाः यस्य’ (thousand-colored)

• विरजम्: stainless / pure
• विरजम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विरज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; (stainless)

• भास्कराभम्: sun-bright
• भास्कराभम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भास्कर (प्रातिपदिक) + आभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘भास्करस्य आभा इव’ (sun-like in radiance)

• हिरण्मयम्: golden
• हिरण्मयम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हिरण्मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; (made of gold)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; specific dialogue-speaker not explicit from this single verse)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: celestial_realm

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: नाभ्युद्भवं → नाभि-उद्भवम्; चैकम् → च एकम्; समुत्पादितवांस्ततः → समुत्पादितवान् ततः; सहस्त्रवर्णं → सहस्रवर्णम् (orthographic variant).

Characters & Entities

• Lotus (Padma)

FAQs

What is the significance of the navel-born lotus in this verse?

It signals a cosmogonic moment: creation is depicted as emerging from a divine source, symbolized by a lotus arising from the navel—an image strongly associated with Purāṇic creation theology.

Why is the lotus described as ‘stainless’ and ‘sun-like’?

The adjectives (viraja, bhāskarābha, hiraṇmaya) emphasize purity, divine radiance, and auspiciousness—marking the lotus as a sacred, non-material or transcendent creative principle.

What ethical or spiritual lesson can be drawn from this imagery?

The verse presents creation as rooted in purity and luminosity, suggesting an ideal that spiritual life should imitate: inner cleanliness (viraja) and clarity (radiance) as foundations for constructive action.