Shloka 17

कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च

Time-Reckoning, Yuga-Dharma, and the Sequence of Creation

Devanagari script

पृथिवी ज्योतिराकाशमापो वायुश्च॒ पठचम: । एतद्योनीनि भूतानि तत्र का परिदेवना

Transliteration

śakra uvāca | pṛthivī jyotir ākāśam āpo vāyuś ca pañcamaḥ | etad-yonīni bhūtāni tatra kā paridevanā ||

Translation

Dijo Śakra: «Tierra, fuego (luz), espacio, agua y viento como quinto: éstos son los vientres (fuentes materiales) de los que nacen los seres encarnados. Si todas las criaturas están constituidas por estos elementos y a ellos regresan, ¿qué motivo hay para el lamento y el llanto?»

Word by Word

• पृथिवी: earth
• पृथिवी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• ज्योतिः: fire/light
• ज्योतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्योतिस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• आकाशम्: space/ether
• आकाशम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• आपः: waters
• आपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• वायुः: wind/air
• वायुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पञ्चमः: the fifth (i.e., as the fifth element)
• पञ्चमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• योनीनि: sources/wombs/causes
• योनीनि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• भूतानि: beings/creatures
• भूतानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• तत्र: there/in that case
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• का: what?
• का: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• परिदेवना: lamentation/wailing
• परिदेवना: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिदेवना
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

श॒क्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• pṛthivī (earth)
• jyotis/agni (fire/light)
• ākāśa (space/ether)
• āpas (water)
• vāyu (wind/air)
• bhūtāni (beings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Grief is weakened by seeing embodied life as a temporary composition of the five elements; since beings arise from and dissolve back into these material sources, excessive lamentation is portrayed as lacking a stable basis.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śakra (Indra) instructs the listener by pointing to the elemental constitution of all creatures, using this analysis to argue against sorrow and to encourage steadiness of mind.