Shloka 123

Means to Slay Tāraka: Girijā’s Birth, Kāma’s Burning, and Umā’s Austerities

Devanagari script

नाना तपोभिर्मुनिभिर्ज्वलनार्कसमप्रभैः । पावनैः पावितो नित्यं त्वं कंदरसमाश्रयैः

Transliteration

nānā tapobhirmunibhirjvalanārkasamaprabhaiḥ | pāvanaiḥ pāvito nityaṃ tvaṃ kaṃdarasamāśrayaiḥ

Translation

ಅಗ್ನಿ ಮತ್ತು ಸೂರ್ಯನಂತೆ ದೀಪ್ತಿಮಾನ್ ಪಾವನ ಮುನಿಗಳು—ಗುಹೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆಶ್ರಯ ಪಡೆದು ನಾನಾ ತಪಸ್ಸು ಮಾಡುವವರು—ಅವರಿಂದ ನೀನು ಸದಾ ಪವಿತ್ರಗೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತೀ.

Word by Word

• नाना: various
• नाना: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), विशेषणार्थे अव्ययम् (indeclinable used adjectivally): ‘various’

• तपोभिः: by austerities
• तपोभिः: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), बहुवचन (plural)

• मुनिभिः: by sages
• मुनिभिः: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), बहुवचन (plural)

• ज्वलन-अर्क-सम-प्रभैः: with radiance equal to fire and sun
• ज्वलन-अर्क-सम-प्रभैः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्वलन (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्क (प्रातिपदिक) + सम (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्) + प्रभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीह्यर्थे तत्पुरुषसमासप्रायः; पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), बहुवचन (plural); ‘having radiance equal to fire and sun’

• पावनैः: by the purifying (ones)
• पावनैः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पावन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), बहुवचन (plural); विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• पावितः: purified
• पावितः: Karma (कर्म) / Predicative (विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पू (धातु) → पावित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त/क्तवतु-प्राय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थः (passive sense): ‘purified’

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन अव्ययवत् (adverbial accusative), क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb): ‘always’

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), उत्तमपुरुषार्थे द्वितीय-पुरुष (2nd person), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• कन्दर-समाश्रयैः: by those who resort to caves
• कन्दर-समाश्रयैः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कन्दर (प्रातिपदिक) + समाश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (locative/adhikaraṇa sense: ‘cave-dwelling/depending on caves’), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier of munibhiḥ/pāvanaiḥ)

Speaker

Unspecified (context needed to identify the dialogue speaker reliably within Adhyaya 43)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Geographic Context

Type: forest

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: तपोभिः मुनिभिः → तपोभिर्मुनिभिः; मुनिभिः ज्वलनार्कसमप्रभैः → मुनिभिर्ज्वलनार्कसमप्रभैः; कन्दरसमाश्रयैः treated as compound: कन्दर-समाश्रयैः.

Characters & Entities

• Munis (sages)

FAQs

What does this verse convey about sanctity and purification in the Padma Purana?

It presents holiness as something continuously renewed: a place (or revered subject addressed as “you”) is said to be perpetually purified by the presence and austerities of radiant, self-disciplined sages.

Why are the sages compared to fire and the sun?

Fire and the sun symbolize intense luminosity and purifying power; the comparison highlights the sages’ spiritual brilliance and their capacity to cleanse and sanctify through tapas.

What ethical or spiritual lesson is implied here?

The verse elevates disciplined practice (tapas), simplicity (dwelling in caves), and saintly company as forces that purify both the practitioner and the environment—encouraging reverence for ascetic virtue and sacred spaces.