Shloka 10

Origins of the Maruts — Across the Manvantaras

Devanagari script

सो ऽथाब्रवीन्मा रुदस्वायताक्षि पुत्रास्त्वत्तो भूमिपालस्य सप्त भविष्यन्ति वह्निमारोह शीघ्रं सत्यं प्रोक्तं श्रद्दधत्स्व त्वमद्य // वम्प्_46.9 इत्येवमुक्ता खचरेण बाला चितौ समारोप्य पितं वरार्हम् हुताशमासाद्य पतिव्रता तं संचिन्तयन्ती ज्वलनं प्रवनन्ना

Transliteration

so 'thābravīnmā rudasvāyatākṣi putrāstvatto bhūmipālasya sapta bhaviṣyanti vahnimāroha śīghraṃ satyaṃ proktaṃ śraddadhatsva tvamadya // VamP_46.9 ityevamuktā khacareṇa bālā citau samāropya pitaṃ varārham hutāśamāsādya pativratā taṃ saṃcintayantī jvalanaṃ pravanannā

Translation

Then he said: “Do not weep, large-eyed one. From you the king shall have seven sons. Mount the fire quickly; what is spoken is true—believe it today.” Thus addressed by the sky-moving being, the young woman—mindful of her husband—placed that most excellent lord (her husband) upon the funeral pyre; approaching the fire, the devoted wife, meditating upon him, entered the blazing flames.

Speakers

• Khacara (aerial messenger/oracle) to Sudevā; then narrator describes Sudevā’s action.

Key Themes

• Pativratā-dharma and self-sacrifice
• Truth of prophecy (satya-vākya)
• Miraculous restoration/revival motif
• Dynastic fecundity (seven sons)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is Sudevā’s ‘entering the fire’ to be read as satī in the later historical sense?

The verse depicts a wife entering the cremation fire, which resembles the satī motif, but Purāṇic narratives often use it as a miracle-trigger tied to pativratā power and divine intervention. The immediate narrative goal here is not social prescription but the restoration of the king and the securing of progeny through a divinely guaranteed outcome.

Why is the number ‘seven sons’ significant?

Seven frequently signals completeness and auspicious totality in Purāṇic symbolism (sapta). In dynastic narratives it also functions as a narrative guarantee of continuity and prosperity, countering the crisis implied by putrahīnatā (sonlessness).

What does ‘śraddadhatsva’ imply about the nature of the message?

It frames the oracle as satya (truth-bearing) yet requiring śraddhā (trust/faith) to act upon it. The text emphasizes that dharmic action—here, Sudevā’s extreme vow—rests on confidence in a higher moral-cosmic order.