Shloka 23

Adhyaya 3 — The Dharmapakshis’ Past-Life Curse and Indra’s Test of Truthfulness

Sanskrit

सोऽहं मोहसमाविष्टो भूमौ सप्ताहमस्मृतिः ।

स्थितस्तत्राष्टमेनाह्ना चेतनां प्राप्तवानहम् ॥

Transliteration

so ’haṃ moha-samāviṣṭo bhūmau saptāham asmṛtiḥ |

sthitas tatrāṣṭamenāhnā cetanāṃ prāptavān aham ||

Translation

かくして私は—迷妄に圧倒され—記憶を失って地に伏し、七日間横たわっていた。そこに留まり、八日目に意識を取り戻した。

Word by Word

• सः: he/that (I)
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (pronoun)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन (1st person pronoun)

• मोहसमाविष्टः: overcome by delusion
• मोहसमाविष्टः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मोह-सम्-आ√विश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past passive participle) ‘समाविष्ट’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—मोह + समाविष्ट (overcome by delusion)

• भूमौ: on the ground
• भूमौ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• सप्ताहम्: for a week
• सप्ताहम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल/Duration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्ताह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगुः—सप्त + अह (seven days) (accusative of duration)

• अस्मृतिः: unconsciousness/loss of memory
• अस्मृतिः: Bhāva (भाव/State)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्थितः: having remained
• स्थितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• अष्टमेन: on the eighth (day)
• अष्टमेन: Kāla-karaṇa (काल/Instrument of time)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (ordinal)

• अह्ना: by day / on the day
• अह्ना: Kāla-karaṇa (काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• चेतनाम्: consciousness
• चेतनाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चेतना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• प्राप्तवान्: having attained
• प्राप्तवान्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र√आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्तवतु (Perfect participle/agentive past), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग (active sense)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrator within the chapter’s ongoing dialogue (frame-story narrative voice; specific speaker not identifiable from this single verse alone)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Moha (delusion)
• Loss and recovery of memory
• Narrative transition / awakening

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Delusion (moha) can render a person inert and forgetful, as if ‘fallen to the ground’; clarity returns only after the obscuring condition passes. Ethically, it underscores vigilance against states that eclipse discernment (viveka), since agency and memory are prerequisites for dharmic action.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This verse is primarily narrative/experiential and does not directly state sarga (creation), pratisarga, vaṃśa (genealogies), manvantara, or vaṃśānucarita. It fits best as vaṃśānucarita-adjacent only insofar as it supports a story sequence, but it is not itself a pancalakṣaṇa datum.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘seven days’ of asmṛti can be read symbolically as a complete cycle of obscuration (a full worldly week), while the ‘eighth day’ signifies a step beyond the cycle—an emergence into renewed awareness. It suggests the transition from tamasic stupefaction to restored cetanā (conscious presence).