Shloka 38

Adhyaya 49 — Primordial Human Creation, the Rise of Desire, and the Origins of Settlements, Measures, and Agriculture

Sanskrit

क्रमादष्टगुणान्याहुर्यवानष्टौ तथाङ्गुलम् ।

षडङ्गुलं पदं तच्च वितस्तिर्द्विगुणं स्मृतम् ॥

Transliteration

kramād aṣṭa-guṇāny āhur yavān aṣṭau tathā aṅgulam | ṣaḍ-aṅgulaṃ padaṃ tac ca vitastir dvi-guṇaṃ smṛtam ||

Translation

En el orden debido declaran que cada una es ocho veces la anterior. Ocho yavas hacen un aṅgula (ancho de un dedo). Seis aṅgulas hacen un pada (pie). Y se recuerda que una vitasti (palmo) es el doble de eso.

Word by Word

क्रमात्successively, in order

अष्टगुणानिeightfold (by eight)

आहुःthey say

यवान्barley grains

अष्टौeight

तथाlikewise

अङ्गुलम्an aṅgula (finger-breadth)

षडङ्गुलम्six aṅgulas

पदम्a foot (pada measure)

तत्that

चand

वितस्तिःa vitasti (span)

द्विगुणम्twofold, double

स्मृतम्is said/considered

Speakers

Not explicitly indicated in the provided excerpt (likely within the Purāṇic didactic narration)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

Traditional measurement standardsEmbodied units (aṅgula, pada, vitasti)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Purāṇas often encode practical knowledge: civic order (town-planning, land grants, ritual altars) requires shared standards. The verse models how tradition stabilizes society through agreed measures.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ancillary to Sarga/Sthiti descriptions—technical scaffolding for geographical and civic descriptions rather than a direct Manvantara or Vaṃśa narrative.

What is the esoteric significance?

Using the body as measure (aṅgula, span) reflects the microcosm–macrocosm idea: human embodiment becomes the template for mapping and ordering external space.