Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 1
The Vena Episode
Sunīthā’s Lament, Counsel on Fault, and the Turn toward Māyā-vidyā
सूत उवाच । यथा शप्ता वने पूर्वं सुशंखेन महात्मना । तासु सर्वं समाख्यातं सखीष्वेव विचेष्टितम्
sūta uvāca | yathā śaptā vane pūrvaṃ suśaṃkhena mahātmanā | tāsu sarvaṃ samākhyātaṃ sakhīṣveva viceṣṭitam
Sūta dit : «Comment jadis elles furent maudites dans la forêt par le grand d’âme Suśaṅkha—tout à leur sujet a été pleinement rapporté, jusqu’à leur conduite parmi leurs compagnes.»
Sūta
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: forest
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सूत उवाच → sūtaḥ uvāca (visarga in prose); सखीष्वेव → sakhīṣu + eva; शप्ता (contextually plural) taken as śaptāḥ; समाख्यातं/विचेष्टितम् are past participles used predicatively.
FAQs
The speaker is Sūta, who frames the narrative by stating that the earlier curse by Suśaṅkha and the related details have been explained, serving as a transition into or recap of the episode.
The verse introduces a “curse in the forest” motif and signals that the narrative includes not only the curse itself but also the subjects’ conduct among their companions.
Curse-narratives commonly highlight moral causality—speech and actions have consequences—and they often set up transformation, expiation, or instruction through the unfolding of events.