Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 15

The Bestowal of Boons upon Aṅga

Devanagari script

विस्तीर्णैः कांचनैर्दिव्यैः सूर्यवह्निसमप्रभैः । शिलातलैश्च संपूर्णः शैलराजो विराजते

Transliteration

vistīrṇaiḥ kāṃcanairdivyaiḥ sūryavahnisamaprabhaiḥ | śilātalaiśca saṃpūrṇaḥ śailarājo virājate

Translation

സൂര്യനും അഗ്നിയും പോലെയുള്ള പ്രഭയുള്ള വിശാലമായ ദിവ്യ കനകശിലാപട്ടങ്ങളാലും, സമ്പൂർണ്ണ ശിലാതലങ്ങളാലും യുക്തനായ ആ ശൈലരാജൻ അത്യന്തം വിരാജിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• विस्तीर्णैः: with broad/extended (ones)
• विस्तीर्णैः: करण (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विस्तीर्ण (कृदन्त; √स्तॄ/स्तृ "to spread" + वि-; past passive participle used adjectivally)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; instrumental plural (means/association)

• काञ्चनैः: golden
• काञ्चनैः: करण (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काञ्चन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; instrumental plural

• दिव्यैः: divine
• दिव्यैः: करण (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; instrumental plural

• सूर्य-वह्नि-सम-प्रभैः: with lustre equal to the sun and fire
• सूर्य-वह्नि-सम-प्रभैः: करण (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + सम (अव्यय/उपपद) + प्रभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; instrumental plural; समासः—उपमानतत्पुरुषः (sūrya-vahni-samāḥ prabhāḥ = having lustre equal to sun and fire)

• शिला-तलैः: with stone slabs/surfaces
• शिला-तलैः: करण (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिला (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; instrumental plural; समासः—षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रायः तत्पुरुषः (śilāyāḥ talaṃ = stone-slabs/surfaces)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunctive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• संपूर्णः: completely filled/complete
• संपूर्णः: कर्तृ-विशेषण (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संपूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक; adjective)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular; agrees with शैलराजः

• शैल-राजः: the king of mountains
• शैल-राजः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैल (प्रातिपदिक) + राज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (śailānāṃ rājā = king of mountains)

• विराजते: shines/splendours
• विराजते: क्रिया (Action/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √राज् (धातु) (वि- + राज्)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; intransitive

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (contextual description within Bhūmi-khaṇḍa narrative)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: celestial_realm

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: कांचनैर्दिव्यैः = काञ्चनैः दिव्यैः; शिलातलैश्च = शिला-तलैः च; सूर्यवह्निसमप्रभैः treated as a single compound; no other sandhi changes.

FAQs

What does this verse convey through its imagery of gold and blazing radiance?

It uses gold and the radiance of sun and fire to signal divine splendor—portraying the mountain not as ordinary terrain but as a sacred, luminous realm worthy of reverence.

Who is the “king of mountains” (śailarāja) in Purāṇic usage?

Śailarāja is a common epithet for a preeminent mountain (often Himālaya or a central sacred mountain in the given passage). In this specific verse, the text does not name the mountain explicitly.

Is there an ethical or devotional lesson implied here?

Indirectly, yes: by depicting nature as divinely endowed and resplendent, the verse encourages a reverential attitude toward sacred places and the cosmic order they represent.