Shloka 20

Kuru's Consecration — Kuru’s Consecration and the Sanctification of Samantapañcaka (Kurukshetra)

Devanagari script

प्रतीची पुष्करा वेदिस्त्रिभिः कुण्डैरलङ्कृता समन्तपञ्चका चोक्ता वेदिरेवोत्तराव्यया

Transliteration

pratīcī puṣkarā vedistribhiḥ kuṇḍairalaṅkṛtā samantapañcakā coktā vedirevottarāvyayā

Translation

Le vedi de l’ouest est Puṣkarā, orné de trois kuṇḍa (bassins sacrés). Le vedi du nord est appelé Samantapañcakā, impérissable et toujours établi.

Word by Word

• प्रतीची: western
• प्रतीची: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतीची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• पुष्करा: Puṣkarā (name of the altar/place)
• पुष्करा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्करा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वेदीः: altar
• वेदीः: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्रिभिः: with three
• त्रिभिः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण

• कुण्डैः: by/with pits (kuṇḍas)
• कुण्डैः: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अलङ्कृता: adorned
• अलङ्कृता: Kriya (क्रिया/Participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अलङ्कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• समन्तपञ्चका: Samantapañcakā (the ‘five around’)
• समन्तपञ्चका: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समन्त-पञ्चक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (समन्ते पञ्च = समन्तपञ्चक)

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

• उक्ता: is said/called
• उक्ता: Kriya (क्रिया/Participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वेदीः: altar
• वेदीः: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• उत्तरा: northern
• उत्तरा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• अव्यया: Avyayā (name of the altar/place)
• अव्यया: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अव्यया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical frame; not explicit in the excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Not explicit in this verse (tirtha enumeration)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Tirtha-Mahatmya
• Pilgrimage merit
• Ritual topography (kundas and vedis)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By describing the western vedi as ‘adorned’ with kuṇḍas and the northern as ‘imperishable,’ the text encourages a view of dharma as supported by enduring sacred institutions—places that preserve memory, discipline, and communal ritual practice.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

As with many Purāṇas, extensive kṣetra-māhātmya sections sit alongside the five lakṣaṇas; this material is best treated as dharma/ācāra and tīrtha-prāśaṃsā (praise of pilgrimage-sites) rather than sarga/pratisarga proper.

What is the symbolic significance?

The three kuṇḍas can be read as ritual ‘supports’ (upakaraṇa) that complete a vedi, while ‘avyayā’ signals that sacred order (ṛta/dharma) is imagined as stable even when human polities change.