Shloka 38

Description and Measurements of Śākadvīpa

with Oceans, Mountains, Varṣas, and Rivers

Devanagari script

स्वधर्मेणैव धर्मज्ञास्ते रक्षंति परस्परम् । एतावदेव शक्यं तु तत्र द्वीपे प्रभाषितुम्

Transliteration

svadharmeṇaiva dharmajñāste rakṣaṃti parasparam | etāvadeva śakyaṃ tu tatra dvīpe prabhāṣitum

Translation

ധർമ്മജ്ഞർ തങ്ങളുടെ സ്വധർമ്മം കൊണ്ടുതന്നെ പരസ്പരം സംരക്ഷിക്കുന്നു. ആ ദ്വീപിനെക്കുറിച്ച് ഇത്രയേ പറയാൻ കഴിയൂ.

Word by Word

• svadharmeṇa: by their own duty
• svadharmeṇa: Karaṇa (करण) (instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva + dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: sva-dharma ('one’s own duty'); means 'by/through their own duty'

• eva: indeed/alone
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध) (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात): emphasis

• dharmajñāḥ: knowers of dharma
• dharmajñāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma + jña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); tatpuruṣa: dharma-jña ('knowing dharma')

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता) (subject coreferent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); pronoun referring to the people mentioned

• rakṣanti: protect
• rakṣanti: Kriyā (क्रिया) (verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rakṣ (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Third person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन)

• parasparam: one another
• parasparam: Karma (कर्म) (object in reciprocal sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paraspara (प्रातिपदिक used adverbially)
• Form: Reciprocal adverb (परस्परम्), avyaya-like usage; 'each other'

• etāvat: this much
• etāvat: Karta (कर्ता) (what is possible)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); 'this much' (subject/predicate of śakyam)

• eva: only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध) (limitation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात): emphasis/limitation

• śakyam: possible
• śakyam: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate adjective to etāvat)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śakya (प्रातिपदिक; from √śak)
• Form: Kṛdanta (कृदन्त), potential/passive participle (तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययार्थ), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); 'possible'

• tu: however/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध) (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात): contrast/emphasis

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण) (location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (देशवाचक): 'there'

• dvīpe: in the island/continent
• dvīpe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण) (location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); 'in the island/continent'

• prabhāṣitum: to describe/speak
• prabhāṣitum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन) / Kriyārtha (क्रियार्थ) (purpose complement of śakyam)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + bhāṣ (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta (कृदन्त), infinitive (तुमुन्), 'to speak/describe'

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (contextual speaker not provided in the input excerpt)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: celestial_realm

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: स्वधर्मेणैव = स्वधर्मेण + एव; धर्मज्ञास्ते = धर्मज्ञाः + ते; एतावदेव = एतावत् + एव

FAQs

What ethical principle is emphasized in this verse?

It teaches that social harmony and safety arise when dharma-knowing people uphold their own svadharma, resulting in mutual protection.

What does the verse imply about the description of the dvīpa?

It signals a deliberate limitation: only a brief statement is possible here, implying the dvīpa’s features are vast or not fully elaborated in this passage.

How does this relate to broader Purāṇic dharma teaching?

Purāṇas often frame order in society and cosmos as sustained by individuals performing their assigned duties; this verse compresses that idea into a concise maxim.