Padma Purana — Srishti Khanda, Shloka 14090
Brahmā’s Lotus-Birth, Puṣkara-Creation Imagery, Madhu–Kaiṭabha, and Early Genealogies
धरं वै प्रथमं देवं द्वितीयं ध्रुवमव्ययम् । विश्वावसुं तृतीयं च चतुर्थं सोममीश्वरं
dharaṃ vai prathamaṃ devaṃ dvitīyaṃ dhruvamavyayam | viśvāvasuṃ tṛtīyaṃ ca caturthaṃ somamīśvaraṃ
प्रथम देव धरा हैं; द्वितीय अव्यय ध्रुव; तृतीय विश्वावसु; और चतुर्थ ईश्वर सोम हैं।
Unspecified (verse presented without surrounding dialogue context)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: celestial_realm
Sandhi Resolution Notes: ध्रुवमव्ययम् = ध्रुवम् + अव्ययम्; सोममीश्वरम् = सोमम् + ईश्वरम्; विश्वावसुम् = विश्व + वसु (समास)
FAQs
They are presented as a sequential list of exalted beings: Dhara and Dhruva as revered divine names (with Dhruva explicitly called imperishable), Viśvāvasu as a well-known Gandharva name in Purāṇic lore, and Soma as the Moon-deity addressed as Īśvara (Lord).
Dhruva is traditionally associated with fixity and permanence (the “steady” one, linked with the pole star in later narrative contexts). Calling him avyaya underscores his unchanging, enduring status within the cosmological order.
The verse reads like a catalog/listing verse—common in the Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa’s encyclopedic style—where beings are enumerated in order, often as part of a broader cosmological or genealogical description.