Shloka 12

Adhyaya 45 — Jaimini’s Cosmological Questions and the Opening of Markandeya’s Account of Primary Creation

Sanskrit

यथा च क्षितिसंस्थानं यत् प्रमाणञ्च वै भुवः ।

यथास्थिति समुद्राद्रि-निम्नगाः काननानि च ॥

Transliteration

yathā ca kṣitisaṃsthānaṃ yat pramāṇaṃ ca vai bhuvaḥ | yathāsthiti samudrādri-nimnagāḥ kānanāni ca ||

Translation

また、大地の形状はいかなるもので、その真の広さはいかほどか。さらに、海洋・山岳・河川・森林はいかに配されているのか――お示しください。

Word by Word

• yathā: as/how
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/सम्बन्धवाचक-अव्यय

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• kṣiti-saṃsthānam: the form/structure of the earth
• kṣiti-saṃsthānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣiti + saṃsthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘क्षितेः संस्थानम्’ = configuration of the earth)

• yat: that which
• yat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• pramāṇam: measure/extent
• pramāṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• bhuvaḥ: of the earth
• bhuvaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक: bhuvan/bhū)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘भू’ = पृथिवी

• yathā-sthiti: the state as it is
• yathā-sthiti: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + sthiti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—अव्ययीभावः (‘यथास्थिति’ = in its existing state/according to its condition)

• samudra-adri-nimnagāḥ: oceans, mountains, and rivers
• samudra-adri-nimnagāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samudra + adri + nimnagā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (समुद्राः + अद्रयः + निम्नगाः; collective listing)

• kānanāni: forests
• kānanāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

Speakers

• Inquirer (Jaimini in the common frame) questioning revered sages

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Cosmography
• Sacred geography
• Purāṇic world-description

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Sacred cosmography is not mere cartography; it frames the world as an ordered field for dharma, pilgrimage, and ritual orientation, linking place with purpose.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Supports sarga/pratisarga exposition by detailing the structured world that emerges within creation; though not a separate lakṣaṇa, it is standard purāṇic cosmographical elaboration.

What is the esoteric significance?

Oceans, mountains, and rivers can be read as inner terrains: depths of emotion (samudra), stabilizing principles (adri), and flowing prāṇa/insight currents (nimnagā).