Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 56
Pitṛmātṛtīrtha Greatness & the Discourse on Embodiment: Karma, Birth, Impurity, and Dispassion
नाडीस्वेदप्रवाहं च कफपित्तपरिप्लुतम् । जराशोकसमाविष्टं कालवक्त्रानलेस्थितम्
nāḍīsvedapravāhaṃ ca kaphapittapariplutam | jarāśokasamāviṣṭaṃ kālavaktrānalesthitam
Il est rempli du flux des canaux et de la sueur, inondé de flegme et de bile ; saisi par la vieillesse et le chagrin, et placé dans le feu de la bouche du Temps (la Mort).
Unspecified (verse-level excerpt; speaker not identifiable from single verse alone)
Concept: The body is a flux of humors and decay, inevitably consumed by Time; therefore seek the timeless refuge (Vishnu) rather than bodily security.
Application: Contemplate impermanence daily (mṛtyu-smaraṇa) without despair; prioritize sadhana, reconcile quickly, and invest in service rather than postponing dharma.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A haunting cosmic allegory: the human body shown as a small figure surrounded by swirling nāḍī-like streams and misty sweat, while above looms the vast, shadowed visage of Kāla—an open mouth of fire into which all forms drift. Phlegm and bile are suggested as colored currents, and the figure is touched by pale hands of old age and sorrow.","primary_figures":["Allegorical human figure (the body)","Kāla (Time/Death) as a vast shadow-mouth","Personifications of Jarā (old age) and Śoka (sorrow) as faint attendants"],"setting":"Cosmic void blending into an inner-body landscape—channels like rivers, vapors like clouds, all funneling toward Kāla’s mouth.","lighting_mood":"divine radiance edged with dread","color_palette":["smoldering orange","ash gray","sickly green","indigo black","pale bone-white"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: Kāla’s immense mouth rendered as a stylized fiery aureole with gold leaf flames, the small human form below with ornate but fading jewelry to show impermanence, rich reds and blacks, decorative borders with lotus motifs contrasting mortality with spiritual aspiration.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: lyrical yet ominous scene with delicate smoke gradients, Kāla as a dark cloud-face with a glowing mouth, fine linework for nāḍī-streams like rivers, cool indigos and ash tones, restrained composition emphasizing inevitability.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines for Kāla’s face and flame-mouth, flat fields of orange/red/black, stylized nāḍī patterns like temple ornamentation, expressive eyes of Kāla, didactic mural clarity.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical funnel into a dark central mouth framed by ornate floral borders, deep blues and gold, lotus motifs at the edges suggesting bhakti as the counter-current to time, intricate patterning of channels like vines."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Darbari","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"emotional","sound_elements":["deep mridangam pulse","low conch drone","crackling fire ambience (subtle)","long silences"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: नाडीस्वेदप्रवाहम् = नाडी + स्वेद + प्रवाहम्; कफपित्तपरिप्लुतम् = कफ + पित्त + परिप्लुतम्; जराशोकसमाविष्टम् = जरा + शोक + समाविष्टम्; कालवक्त्रानलेस्थितम् = काल + वक्त्र + अनल + स्थितम्.
FAQs
It portrays the human body as perishable and afflicted—ruled by bodily humors, aging, and grief—urging detachment and spiritual urgency in the face of Kāla (Time/Death).
Kapha (phlegm) and pitta (bile) are used as concrete markers of the body’s material, humoral nature, emphasizing that embodied life is unstable and subject to imbalance and decay.
It is a metaphor: Time/Death is imagined as a devourer, and embodied existence is described as resting within that consuming power—highlighting inevitability of death and transience.