Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 52
Sukalā’s Narrative (within the Vena Episode): Varāha, Ikṣvāku, and the Dharma of Battle
लुब्धकैश्च हताः कोलाः कोलैश्चापि सुलुब्धकाः । निहताः पतिता भूमौ क्षतजेनापि सारुणाः
lubdhakaiśca hatāḥ kolāḥ kolaiścāpi sulubdhakāḥ | nihatāḥ patitā bhūmau kṣatajenāpi sāruṇāḥ
ಲುಬ್ಧಕ ಬೇಟೆಗಾರರು ಕೋಲಗಳನ್ನು ಕೊಂದರು; ಕೋಲಗಳೂ ಅತಿಲೋಭಿ ಬೇಟೆಗಾರರನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿಯಾಗಿ ಸಂಹರಿಸಿದರು. ಗಾಯಗೊಂಡು ಅವರು ನೆಲಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿದ್ದು, ಗಾಯರಕ್ತದಿಂದ ಕೆಂಪಾದರು।
Unspecified narrator (within the Bhūmi-khaṇḍa narrative context)
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Sandhi Resolution Notes: लुब्धकैश्च = लुब्धकैः + च; कोलैश्चापि = कोलैः + च + अपि; क्षतजेनापि = क्षतजेन + अपि. Participles (हताः, निहताः, पतिताः) agree with implied subjects.
FAQs
It depicts reciprocal violence—hunters kill boars and are then killed by them—highlighting how greed and aggression can rebound upon the aggressor.
While it does not state a doctrine directly, the narrative image strongly suggests consequences that mirror one’s actions, a common ethical theme in Purāṇic literature.
The verse is presented in a narrative voice, but the specific dialogue speaker is not identifiable from the single shloka alone without surrounding verses.