Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 9
Prologue to the Suvrata Narrative: Revā (Narmadā) and Vāmana-tīrtha; Greed, Anxiety, and the Ethics of Trust
समालोक्य तदा कांतं तमुवाच तपस्विनी । दुःखजालैरसंख्यैस्तु तव चित्तं प्रधर्षितम्
samālokya tadā kāṃtaṃ tamuvāca tapasvinī | duḥkhajālairasaṃkhyaistu tava cittaṃ pradharṣitam
ಆಗ ತನ್ನ ಕಾಂತನನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ತಪಸ್ವಿನಿ ಅವನಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದಳು—ಅಸಂಖ್ಯ ದುಃಖಜಾಲಗಳು ನಿನ್ನ ಚಿತ್ತವನ್ನು ಆಕ್ರಮಿಸಿವೆ।
tapasvinī (an ascetic woman)
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: तमुवाच → तम् उवाच; दुःखजालैरसंख्यैस्तु → दुःखजालैः असंख्यैः तु (विसर्ग-संधि/रेफ); प्रधर्षितम् कृदन्त-विशेषणम्.
FAQs
The speaker is a tapasvinī (ascetic woman), addressing her kānta (“beloved”), i.e., the man she is emotionally tied to.
It depicts sorrow as an entangling “net” that overwhelms the mind, emphasizing how accumulated grief can dominate one’s inner state.
It encourages compassionate recognition of another’s mental suffering and implies the need to address grief directly rather than letting it overtake the heart.