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Shloka 8

The Origin of Fire and the Liturgical Names of Agni

तच्छब्दलक्षणं व्योम स च वायुः प्रतापवान् । तच्च तेजोऽम्भसा युक्तं श्लिष्टमन्योन्यतस्तदा ॥ १८.८ ॥

tacchabdalakṣaṇaṃ vyoma sa ca vāyuḥ pratāpavān | tacca tejo’mbhasā yuktaṃ śliṣṭam anyonyatas tadā || 18.8 ||

ત્યારે શબ્દ-લક્ષણવાળું વ્યોમ (આકાશ) પ્રગટ થયું અને પ્રતિાપવાન વાયુ પણ. તે સમયે જળથી યુક્ત તેજ (અગ્નિ) તેની સાથે પરસ્પર સંલગ્ન બન્યું.

tat-śabda-lakṣaṇamhaving sound as its characteristic
tat-śabda-lakṣaṇam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Roottad (प्रातिपदिक) + śabda (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); qualifying vyoma
vyomasky/ether
vyoma:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootvyoman (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
saḥhe/that (one)
saḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Roottad (प्रातिपदिक)
FormSarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
FormConjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)
vāyuḥwind/air
vāyuḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootvāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
pratāpavānpowerful/ardent
pratāpavān:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootpratāpa-vat (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMatup-derivative (वत्), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); qualifying vāyuḥ
tatthat
tat:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Roottad (प्रातिपदिक)
FormSarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); correlating with tejaḥ
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
FormConjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)
tejaḥfire/energy/splendor
tejaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Roottejas (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
ambhasāwith water/by water
ambhasā:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Rootambhas (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)
yuktamjoined/combined
yuktam:
Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/participial predicate)
TypeVerb
Root√yuj (युज् धातु)
FormPast passive participle (क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agreeing with tejaḥ
śliṣṭamclung/closely united
śliṣṭam:
Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/participial predicate)
TypeVerb
Root√śliṣ (श्लिष् धातु)
FormPast passive participle (क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agreeing with tejaḥ
anyonyataḥmutually/with each other
anyonyataḥ:
Itaretara-sambandha (परस्पर-सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootanyonya (प्रातिपदिक)
FormAdverbial ablative (तसिल्-प्रत्यय/अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोग), meaning 'mutually/from each other'
tadāthen
tadā:
Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottadā (अव्यय)
FormAdverb (कालवाचक अव्यय)

Varāha

Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}

Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"curious","key_question":"What are the defining marks (lakṣaṇa) of each element—especially ākāśa as sound-bearing—and how do the elements combine (saṃśleṣa)?"}

Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}

Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}

Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}

Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}

Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"philosophy of nature / guṇa-lakṣaṇa","core_concept":"Ākāśa is characterized by śabda; elements arise with distinctive qualities and then enter conjunction (saṃśleṣa), here highlighting tejas’ association with ap (water).","practical_application":"Use lakṣaṇa (defining characteristics) to analyze experience—sound as clue to space, heat to fire, liquidity to water—supporting meditative inquiry into tattvas."}

Subject Matter: ["Cosmology"]

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Type: cosmological

Related Themes: Continuation of the same sṛṣṭi-krama passage (18.18.7–11) emphasizing lakṣaṇa and saṃyoga

Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Space unfolds as a vast field marked by subtle sound-waves; beside it a vigorous wind-force; fire and water appear interlinked, braided together to show mutual adhesion.","item_prompts":["ether/space with faint sound ripples","wind deity-like force lines","fire plume","water stream","interlacing/braiding motif to show śliṣṭa (conjoined)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural abstraction: sound-rings in ākāśa, stylized vāyu curls, and intertwined red-orange tejas with blue ap; bold contours.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-embossed sound mandala for ākāśa, ornate wind scrollwork, and jewel-toned fire-water interlace; rich border work.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined depiction of sound as concentric lines in space; elegant, balanced composition of vāyu, tejas, and ap in gentle union.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: lyrical sky with delicate sound-wave arcs; wind bands; fire and water meeting like two streams; minimalistic, poetic."}

Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructive, wonder-tinged","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"clear, explanatory, slightly elevated"}

C
Classical Literature
P
Purāṇic Cosmology
S
Sanskrit Philology
V
Vaiṣṇavism

FAQs

It reflects a Purāṇic model of cosmogony in which the classical elements are described through defining qualities (e.g., sound for space), a framework shared across several Sanskrit cosmological texts.

No specific geographic location is named in this verse; it is a cosmological description of elemental formation rather than a sacred-place narrative.

No direct ethical injunction is stated here; the verse primarily conveys a philosophical account of how elemental principles are understood to arise and combine.