Shloka 37

Adhyaya 4 — Draupadi and Her Husbands

Sanskrit

चतुर्व्यूहात्मने तस्मै त्रिगुणायागुणाय च ।

वरिष्ठाय गरिष्ठाय वरेष्यायामृताय च ॥

Transliteration

caturvyūhātmane tasmai triguṇāyāguṇāya ca /

variṣṭhāya gariṣṭhāya vareṣyāyāmṛtāya ca

Translation

Salutación a Aquel cuya esencia es la emanación cuádruple (caturvyūha); que está constituido por los tres guṇa y, sin embargo, trasciende los guṇa; que es el más excelente y el más grande; el mejor entre los mejores; e inmortal.

Word by Word

• चतुर्व्यूहात्मने: to him whose essence is the fourfold emanation
• चतुर्व्यूहात्मने: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्-व्यूह-आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: चतुर्णां व्यूहानां आत्मा/स्वरूपः (whose essence is the four vyūhas)

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular)

• त्रिगुणाय: to the three-guṇa one
• त्रिगुणाय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि-गुण (प्रातिपदिक: त्रि + गुण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular); द्विगु: त्रयः गुणाः यस्य (having three guṇas)

• अगुणाय: to the quality-less (transcendent)
• अगुणाय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अगुण (प्रातिपदिक: अ + गुण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular); नञ्-तत्पुरुष: गुणरहित (without qualities)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• वरिष्ठाय: to the best
• वरिष्ठाय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वरिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; superlative of वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular); तमप्-प्रत्ययान्त (superlative)

• गरिष्ठाय: to the greatest/heaviest (most venerable)
• गरिष्ठाय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गरिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; superlative of गुरु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular); तमप्-प्रत्ययान्त (superlative)

• वरेष्याय: to the most choice-worthy
• वरेष्याय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वरेष्य (प्रातिपदिक; desiderative/derivative adjective from √वृ/वर?)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular); इच्छार्थक/योग्यतावाचक विशेषण (worthy to be chosen)

• अमृताय: to the deathless
• अमृताय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमृत (प्रातिपदिक: अ + मृत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular); नञ्-तत्पुरुष: अमर/अविनाशी (deathless)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

Speakers

• Narrative voice in an invocatory/stotra register (not within the Devi Mahatmyam birds-frame); exact speaker varies by edition/recension

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Nārāyaṇa (Vishnu)
• Caturvyūha (Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha)

Key Themes

• Vaishnava theology
• Stuti (praise)
• Sāṃkhya guṇas and transcendence
• Emanation doctrine (caturvyūha)
• Immortality (amṛtatva)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse holds together two complementary claims: the Supreme is immanent in the manifest cosmos (as triguṇa—operating through sattva, rajas, and tamas) and simultaneously transcendent (aguṇa—untouched by limiting qualities). Ethically, it supports devotion with discernment: one may engage the world’s guṇas without being bound by them, orienting action toward the ‘most excellent’ (variṣṭha) reality.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Primarily aligned with Vaṃśānucarita/‘theological characterization’ as used in Purāṇic framing (stuti that identifies the supreme principle and its emanations). Indirectly it supports Sarga (creation) doctrine by referencing guṇas (the constituents of prakṛti) while affirming a transcendent Lord beyond them.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Caturvyūha’ encodes a layered cosmology of divine manifestation: a single supreme reality expresses itself in four functional modalities often correlated with cosmic governance and inner psycho-spiritual structure (e.g., levels of mind/ego/intellect and their regulation). The pairing triguṇa/aguṇa signals a non-dual devotional metaphysics: the Lord appears as the field of qualities for the sake of experience and liberation, yet remains intrinsically unconditioned.