Shloka 25

Devanagari script

श्यामाकास् त्व् अथ नीवारा जर्तिलाः सगवेधुकाः तथा वेणुयवाः प्रोक्तास् तद्वन् मर्कटका मुने

Transliteration

śyāmākās tv atha nīvārā jartilāḥ sagavedhukāḥ tathā veṇuyavāḥ proktās tadvan markaṭakā mune

Translation

Then are named the grains and wild cereals called śyāmāka, nīvāra, jartilā, and those known as sagavedhukā; likewise the veṇu-yava are spoken of—so too, O sage, are the markaṭaka.

Word by Word

• श्यामाकाः: millet grains (śyāmāka)
• श्यामाकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्यामाक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम्

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः/पदपूरणः (particle; contrast/emphasis)

• अथ: then/now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (sequencing particle)

• नीवाराः: wild rice (nīvāra)
• नीवाराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नीवार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• जर्तिलाः: jartila grains (a kind of seed)
• जर्तिलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जर्तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• सगवेधुकाः: (grains) along with gavedhuka
• सगवेधुकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स + गवेधुक (प्रातिपदिक); गवेधुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (सहित/स-पूर्वकः)

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (conjunctive adverb)

• वेणुयवाः: bamboo-barley (a kind of grain)
• वेणुयवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेणु + यव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: वेणोः यवाः)

• प्रोक्ताः: are said/declared
• प्रोक्ताः: Karma (Predicate complement/कर्म-भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) → प्रोक्त (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; (अत्र विधेय-विशेषणवत्)

• तद्वत्: similarly/likewise
• तद्वत्: Sambandha (Comparison/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय/तद्धित)
• Form: अव्ययम् (comparative adverb: ‘like that’)

• मर्कटकाः: markaṭaka grains (a kind of seed)
• मर्कटकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्कटक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (8th/Vocative), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Account of created plants/grains and their classifications within the ordered world

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of listing grains like śyāmāka and nīvāra in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse belongs to a creation-era catalogue that maps the ordered diversity of the world; naming grains and wild cereals shows how cosmic creation includes practical life-supporting resources within a structured universe.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the created world in this chapter?

Parāśara teaches Maitreya through systematic enumeration—grouping and naming classes of entities (here, plant/grain types)—to present creation as intelligible, ordered, and sustained within a larger cosmic framework.

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

Even when the verse is a natural catalogue, the Purana’s underlying view is that such ordered multiplicity arises within Vishnu’s sovereign cosmic order—creation is not random, but an expression of the Supreme Reality’s sustaining governance.