Shloka 17

Daitya–Dānava Vaṁśa, Kaśyapa’s Progeny, and the Birth of the Maruts

Devanagari script

शुच्य् औदकान् पक्षिगणान् सुग्रीवी तु व्यजायत अश्वान् उष्ट्रान् गर्दभांश् च ताम्रावंशाः प्रकीर्तिताः

Transliteration

śucy audakān pakṣigaṇān sugrīvī tu vyajāyata aśvān uṣṭrān gardabhāṃś ca tāmrāvaṃśāḥ prakīrtitāḥ

Translation

From Śucī were born the hosts of birds that dwell in the waters; and from Sugrīvī came forth horses, camels, and asses. These are proclaimed as the lineages of Tāmra’s progeny—thus, within the sovereign order upheld by Viṣṇu, creation unfolds in due sequence.

Word by Word

• शुचि: Śuci (a female name)
• शुचि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śuci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नाम (proper noun)

• औदकान्: aquatic, water-born
• औदकान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: audaka (प्रातिपदिक; उदक + अण् तद्धित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• पक्षिगणान्: groups of birds
• पक्षिगणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣi + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पक्षिणां गणाः)

• सुग्रीवी: Sugrīvī (a female name)
• सुग्रीवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sugrīvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नाम (proper noun)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक ‘but/indeed’

• व्यजायत: gave birth to / produced
• व्यजायत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन् धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्ग: वि-

• अश्वान्: horses
• अश्वान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• उष्ट्रान्: camels
• उष्ट्रान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uṣṭra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• गर्दभान्: donkeys
• गर्दभान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gardabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• ताम्रावंशाः: the Tāmra lineage/descendants
• ताम्रावंशाः: Karta/Predicate nominative (कर्ता/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāmra + vaṃśa (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समासः (ताम्रः/ताम्रवर्णः वंशः)

• प्रकीर्तिताः: are declared/are said
• प्रकीर्तिताः: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra + √kīrt (कीर्त् धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; उपसर्ग: प्र-

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Origins/classifications of beings (progeny of Dakṣa’s daughters, esp. Tāmra/Vinatā/Kadrū).

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The diversity of species proceeds through orderly causal lineage within Viṣṇu-governed creation.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Contemplate interdependence in nature and cultivate reverence for life as a sacred, ordered manifestation.

Vishishtadvaita: Multiplicity of beings is real as Viṣṇu’s body/field of manifestation, while He remains the inner ruler and ground of order.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Śucī
• Sugrīvī
• Tāmra
• Aquatic birds
• Horses
• Camels
• Asses

FAQs

What is the significance of Tāmra’s lineage in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse uses Tāmra’s progeny as a genealogical framework to classify kinds of beings—showing creation as an ordered, traceable unfolding rather than a random emergence.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the origin of different species here?

Parāśara presents a lineage-based account: specific progenitor figures (Śucī, Sugrīvī) are named as sources for particular categories of creatures, fitting species into the Purāṇic map of creation.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Viṣṇu is not named in the line itself, the Vishnu Purana frames such genealogies as expressions of a cosmos sustained by the Supreme Reality—Viṣṇu—whose order governs the manifestation of life.