Shloka 74

Adhyaya 58 — The Kurma-Form of Narayana: Mapping Bharata through Nakshatras, Regions, and Planetary Afflictions

Sanskrit

नारायणो ह्यचिन्त्यात्मा यत्र सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम् ।

तत्र देवाः स्थिताः सर्वे प्रतिनक्षत्रसंश्रयाः ॥

Transliteration

nārāyaṇo hyacintyātmā yatra sarvaṃ pratiṣṭhitam / tatra devāḥ sthitāḥ sarve pratinakṣatrasaṃśrayāḥ

Translation

അചിന്ത്യസ്വഭാവനായ നാരായണനാണ് എല്ലാം സ്ഥാപിതമായിരിക്കുന്ന അധിഷ്ഠാനം. അവിടെ എല്ലാ ദേവന്മാരും വസിച്ച്, തത്തത്ത നക്ഷത്രങ്ങൾക്കനുസരിച്ച് ആശ്രയം സ്വീകരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• नारायणः: Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणः: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: सम्बन्धसूचक (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—निपात (particle), अवधान/हेतु-प्राय

• अचिन्त्यात्मा: whose nature is inconceivable / the inconceivable Self
• अचिन्त्यात्मा: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject-appositive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अचिन्त्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—अचिन्त्यः आत्मा यस्य/अचिन्त्य आत्मा (as appositive to नारायणः)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: अधिकरण (Locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक (relative adverb: locative sense)

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject of passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘प्रतिष्ठितम्’ इत्यस्य कर्तृ (passive)

• प्रतिष्ठितम्: is established/rests
• प्रतिष्ठितम्: क्रिया (Predicate; passive participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स्थापित/आश्रित’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—देशवाचक (correlative adverb)

• देवाः: the gods
• देवाः: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• स्थिताः: are situated/stand
• स्थिताः: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle/क्त; intransitive sense), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘देवाः’

• प्रति-नक्षत्र-संश्रयाः: resting in/assigned to each nakṣatra
• प्रति-नक्षत्र-संश्रयाः: कर्ता (कर्तृ/Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय) + नक्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + संश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अव्ययीभावः—प्रति-नक्षत्रम् (each asterism) इति अव्ययपूर्वकः, ततः ‘संश्रय’ (resting/depending) विशेषणम्

Speakers

• Continuing cosmological exposition (speaker not explicitly re-identified here)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Nārāyaṇa
• Devas (collectively)

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Theism (Viṣṇu as substratum)
• Nakṣatra-deity correspondences

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse asserts a theistic metaphysics: even diverse divine powers and astral deities ultimately depend on a single ground (Nārāyaṇa). Ethically, it encourages unified devotion and humility regarding secondary powers.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Cosmological grounding of the universe in a supreme principle fits within Sarga/Pratisarga-type material (the ordering and sustaining principle of the cosmos).

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Each nakṣatra has its devatā’ is read as a mapping of consciousness/energies into a celestial grid, but the grid itself rests in the ‘acintya’ (beyond conceptualization), pointing to a non-reductive unity.