Shloka 174

The Tārakāmaya War: Divine Mustering, Māyā Countermeasures, Aurva Fire, and Viṣṇu’s Slaying of Kālanemi

Devanagari script

तर्जयंतं सुरगणांश्छादयंतं दिशो दश । संवर्तकाले हृषितं दृष्टं मृत्युमिवोत्थितम्

Transliteration

tarjayaṃtaṃ suragaṇāṃśchādayaṃtaṃ diśo daśa | saṃvartakāle hṛṣitaṃ dṛṣṭaṃ mṛtyumivotthitam

Translation

彼らは見た―― देव（デーヴァ）の群れを威嚇し、十方を覆い隠し、劫末の壊滅の時に歓喜するその姿を。まさに死そのものが起ち上がったかのようであった。

Word by Word

• तर्जयन्तम्: threatening
• तर्जयन्तम्: Karma (Object described/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), परस्मैपदी; द्वितीया एकवचन — Present active participle; accusative singular

• सुरगणान्: hosts of gods
• सुरगणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर + गण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Plural

• छादयन्तम्: covering, veiling
• छादयन्तम्: Karma (Object described/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: छद् (धातु)
• Form: णिच् (छादय) + वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ); द्वितीया एकवचन — Causative present active participle; accusative singular

• दिशः: the directions
• दिशः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Plural

• दश: ten
• दश: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या; द्वितीया बहुवचनार्थे (दिशः के विशेषण) — Numeral used adjectivally ‘ten’

• संवर्तकाले: at the time of dissolution
• संवर्तकाले: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संवर्त + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Locative (7th), Singular

• हृषितम्: bristling, thrilled
• हृषितम्: Karma (Object described/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृष् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग द्वितीया एकवचन — Past participle; accusative singular (describing the seen one)

• दृष्टम्: seen
• दृष्टम्: Karma (Patient/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थं — Past passive participle ‘seen’ (used predicatively)

• मृत्युम्: death
• मृत्युम्: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• इव: like, as if
• इव: Sambandha (Comparative marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय — Indeclinable particle of comparison

• उत्थितम्: risen up, arisen
• उत्थितम्: Karma (Object described/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) + उत्-उपसर्ग
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग द्वितीया एकवचन — Past participle; accusative singular (describing the seen one)

Speaker

Narrator (context not specified in the provided excerpt; likely within the Pulastya–Bhīṣma dialogue frame of the Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Geographic Context

Type: celestial_realm

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: सुरगणांश्छादयंतं → सुरगणान् छादयन्तम्; संवर्तकाले → संवर्तकाले (समास); मृत्युमिवोत्थितम् → मृत्युम् इव उत्थितम्

Characters & Entities

• Suragaṇa (hosts of Devas)
• Mṛtyu (Death personified)
• Saṁvarta (cosmic dissolution)

FAQs

What does “covering the ten directions” signify in this verse?

It is a stock Purāṇic image for overwhelming cosmic power—so vast that it obscures every quarter (all space), signaling a being whose presence dominates the world-order.

Why is the figure compared to “Death risen up” (mṛtyum ivotthitam)?

The comparison conveys irresistible inevitability: at saṁvarta (dissolution), even divine hosts are powerless, and the being appears as the embodied force that ends worlds.

What ethical or spiritual lesson can be drawn from this depiction?

It underscores impermanence and the limits of power: even celestial status cannot avert cosmic law, encouraging humility and a turn toward dharma and liberation-oriented practice.