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

Dans l’ordre prescrit, ils déclarent que chacune vaut huit fois la précédente. Huit yavas font un aṅgula (largeur d’un doigt). Six aṅgulas font un pada (pied). Et l’on se souvient qu’une vitasti (empan) en est le double.

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.