Shloka 20

Kuru's Consecration — Kuru’s Consecration and the Sanctification of Samantapañcaka (Kurukshetra)

Devanagari script

प्रतीची पुष्करा वेदिस्त्रिभिः कुण्डैरलङ्कृता समन्तपञ्चका चोक्ता वेदिरेवोत्तराव्यया

Transliteration

pratīcī puṣkarā vedistribhiḥ kuṇḍairalaṅkṛtā samantapañcakā coktā vedirevottarāvyayā

Translation

西のヴェーディはプシュカラー（Puṣkarā）で、三つのクンダ（kuṇḍa、聖なる池）により荘厳される。北のヴェーディはサマンタパンチャカー（Samantapañcakā）と呼ばれ、不壊にして常住である。

Word by Word

• प्रतीची: western
• प्रतीची: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतीची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• पुष्करा: Puṣkarā (name of the altar/place)
• पुष्करा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्करा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वेदीः: altar
• वेदीः: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्रिभिः: with three
• त्रिभिः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण

• कुण्डैः: by/with pits (kuṇḍas)
• कुण्डैः: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अलङ्कृता: adorned
• अलङ्कृता: Kriya (क्रिया/Participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अलङ्कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• समन्तपञ्चका: Samantapañcakā (the ‘five around’)
• समन्तपञ्चका: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समन्त-पञ्चक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (समन्ते पञ्च = समन्तपञ्चक)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• उक्ता: is said/called
• उक्ता: Kriya (क्रिया/Participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वेदीः: altar
• वेदीः: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• उत्तरा: northern
• उत्तरा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• अव्यया: Avyayā (name of the altar/place)
• अव्यया: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अव्यया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical frame; not explicit in the excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Not explicit in this verse (tirtha enumeration)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Tirtha-Mahatmya
• Pilgrimage merit
• Ritual topography (kundas and vedis)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By describing the western vedi as ‘adorned’ with kuṇḍas and the northern as ‘imperishable,’ the text encourages a view of dharma as supported by enduring sacred institutions—places that preserve memory, discipline, and communal ritual practice.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

As with many Purāṇas, extensive kṣetra-māhātmya sections sit alongside the five lakṣaṇas; this material is best treated as dharma/ācāra and tīrtha-prāśaṃsā (praise of pilgrimage-sites) rather than sarga/pratisarga proper.

What is the symbolic significance?

The three kuṇḍas can be read as ritual ‘supports’ (upakaraṇa) that complete a vedi, while ‘avyayā’ signals that sacred order (ṛta/dharma) is imagined as stable even when human polities change.