Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 37
The Episode of Śivaśarmā: Testing Somaśarmā through Service and Truth
मया वै पूर्वमित्युक्तं सुपुत्रं यज्ञसंज्ञकम् । मातृखंडानिमान्पुत्र यत्र तत्र क्षिपस्व हि
mayā vai pūrvamityuktaṃ suputraṃ yajñasaṃjñakam | mātṛkhaṃḍānimānputra yatra tatra kṣipasva hi
मैंने पहले ही कहा था, हे यज्ञ नाम वाले सुपुत्र! हे पुत्र, इन मातृ-खंडों को जहाँ-तहाँ (जहाँ भी हो) वहीं फेंक दे।
Unspecified narrator (speaker addresses a son named Yajña)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Sandhi Resolution Notes: पूर्वमित्युक्तम् = पूर्वम् + इति + उक्तम्; मातृखंडानिमान्पुत्र = मातृखण्डान् + इमान् + पुत्र; यज्ञसंज्ञकम् = यज्ञ + संज्ञक (तत्पुरुष)।
FAQs
The verse directly addresses a 'good son' who is 'named Yajña' (yajña-saṃjñaka). Within this single shloka, no further identification is provided.
Literally 'pieces/fragments of the Mother,' mātṛ-khaṇḍas suggests a motif of dispersing sacred fragments to various locations, a common Purāṇic way of explaining how places become sanctified. The exact backstory depends on the surrounding verses.
The verse emphasizes obedient execution of a prior instruction and portrays sacred geography as arising through purposeful action—transforming ordinary locations into meaningful, sanctified spaces through a divinely directed act.