Shloka 47

Adhyaya 49 — Primordial Human Creation, the Rise of Desire, and the Origins of Settlements, Measures, and Agriculture

Sanskrit

तथा शूद्रजनप्रायाः स्वसमृद्धिकृषीबलाः ।

क्षेत्रोपभोग्यभूमध्ये वसतिर्ग्रामसंज्ञिता ॥

Transliteration

tathā śūdrajanaprāyāḥ svasamṛddhikṛṣībalāḥ / kṣetropabhogyabhūmadhye vasatir grāmasaṃjñitā

Translation

അതുപോലെ, പ്രധാനമായും ശൂദ്രജനങ്ങൾ നിറഞ്ഞതും കൃഷിബലത്താലും സ്വന്തം സമൃദ്ധിയാലും ശക്തമായതും, വയലുകളും കൃഷിയോഗ്യഭൂമിയും നടുവിൽ സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നതുമായ വാസസ്ഥലം ‘ഗ്രാമം’ എന്നു വിളിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• तथा: thus, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connecting adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb)

• शूद्र-जन-प्रायाः: mostly consisting of Śūdra people
• शूद्र-जन-प्रायाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of implied subject/settlement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक) + jana (प्रातिपदिक) + prāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुवचन, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), पुंलिङ्ग; विशेषण; प्राय = 'mostly' (having predominance)

• स्व-समृद्धि-कृषी-बलाः: having their own prosperity and farming strength
• स्व-समृद्धि-कृषी-बलाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of implied subject/settlement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + samṛddhi (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛṣī (प्रातिपदिक) + bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुवचन, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), पुंलिङ्ग; विशेषण; 'having own prosperity and agricultural strength'

• क्षेत्र-उपभोग्य-भूमि-मध्ये: in the middle of land fit for field-enjoyment/use
• क्षेत्र-उपभोग्य-भूमि-मध्ये: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + upabhogya (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: एकवचन, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; अधिकरण (स्थान)

• वसतिः: a settlement, dwelling
• वसतिः: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: एकवचन, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), स्त्रीलिङ्ग

• ग्राम-संज्ञिता: called a village
• ग्राम-संज्ञिता: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of वसतिः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: grāma (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃjñita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: एकवचन, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), स्त्रीलिङ्ग; विशेषण; saṃjñita = 'named/called' (PPP)

Speakers

• Frame-dialogue context not explicit in these verses (narratorial description within the Markandeya Purana’s discourse)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Social organization
• Rural economy
• Civilization after decline

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse normalizes agriculture and land-based livelihood as a stabilizing social foundation; ‘grāma’ is defined by functional ecology—fields and cultivable land—rather than mere population size.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Indirectly aligns with ‘vṛtti’/ācāra descriptions often embedded in Purāṇic manvantara-style social narration; it is not a direct sarga/pratisarga genealogy passage but a dharma–loka-vyavahāra (worldly order) definition.

What is the esoteric significance?

A symbolic shift from effortless abundance to earned sustenance: strength (bala) arises from disciplined work (kṛṣi), indicating a post-golden-age ethic of effort replacing wish-fulfilling plenitude.