Shloka 33

Origins of the Maruts — Origins of the Maruts Across the Manvantaras (Pulastya–Narada Dialogue)

Devanagari script

शङ्खिना ग्राहमुख्यस्य महाशङ्खस्य वल्लभा ते ऽपि विभ्रष्टतपसो जग्मू राज्यं तु षैतृकम्

Transliteration

śaṅkhinā grāhamukhyasya mahāśaṅkhasya vallabhā te 'pi vibhraṣṭatapaso jagmū rājyaṃ tu ṣaitṛkam

Translation

അവൾ ശംഖിനാ—ജലചരങ്ങളിൽ അഗ്രഗണ്യനായ മഹാശംഖന്റെ പ്രിയതമേ. അവരും തപസ്സിൽ നിന്ന് വീണുപോയവരായി, അനുചരസഹിതം സ്വന്തം രാജ്യത്തിലേക്ക് മടങ്ങി.

Speakers

• Narrator to Muni

Key Themes

• Etiology of aquatic beings
• Tapas and its loss through sense-agitation
• Consequences of desire (kāma)
• Tīrtha narrative as moral instruction

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is Mahāśaṅkha in this context—an object (conch) or a being?

Here Mahāśaṅkha functions as a proper name for a powerful aquatic entity (grāha-mukhya). Although śaṅkha commonly means ‘conch’, the compound and narrative role indicate a named water-being rather than a ritual object.

What does ‘vibhraṣṭa-tapasaḥ’ imply about the kings’ spiritual status?

It indicates a loss or weakening of accumulated ascetic merit/inner discipline due to uncontrolled desire. In Purāṇic moral logic, tapas is a subtle power that can be ‘spent’ or ‘broken’ by lapses in restraint, even without overt wrongdoing beyond mental agitation.

Why end with ‘they returned to the kingdom with their retinue’?

The return formula closes the episode by marking a fall from the sacred/liminal space (river-tīrtha) back into worldly life (rājya). It underscores that the tīrtha encounter did not elevate them; instead, it exposed vulnerability and resulted in diminished tapas.