Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 96

Aśokasundarī and Huṇḍa: Chastity, Karma, and the Foretold Rise of Nahuṣa

Devanagari script

तपश्चचार तन्वंगी हुंडस्य वधहेतवे । अशोकसुंदरी बाला सत्येन च समन्विता

Transliteration

tapaścacāra tanvaṃgī huṃḍasya vadhahetave | aśokasuṃdarī bālā satyena ca samanvitā

Translation

ကိုယ်လက်သေးသွယ်သော မိန်းကလေး အရှိုကသုန္ဒရီသည် ဟုဏ္ဍကို သတ်ရန်အကြောင်းဖြင့် တပဿကို ကျင့်ဆောင်ခဲ့ပြီး၊ သစ္စာ (စတျ) နှင့် ပြည့်စုံသူ ဖြစ်하였다။

Word by Word

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• चचार: practiced
• चचार: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तन्वङ्गी: the slender-limbed (lady)
• तन्वङ्गी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनु + अङ्गी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (तन्व्-अङ्गानि यस्याः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• हुंडस्य: of Huṇḍa
• हुंडस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हुंड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• वधहेतवे: for the purpose of killing (him)
• वधहेतवे: Sampradana (Purpose/Dative/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वध + हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (वधस्य हेतु); पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; प्रयोजन (dative of purpose)

• अशोकसुन्दरी: Aśokasundarī
• अशोकसुन्दरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशोक + सुन्दरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (अशोक-नाम्नी सुन्दरी/अशोकस्य सुन्दरी इति नाम); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• बाला: a young girl
• बाला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; अप्पोजिशन (to Aśokasundarī)

• सत्येन: with truth, by truthfulness
• सत्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• समन्विता: endowed, possessed
• समन्विता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्+अन्वि (धातु) → समन्वित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; specific speaker not stated in the given verse excerpt)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: vira

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: तपश्चचार = तपः + चचार (विसर्ग-सन्धि); तन्वंगी = तनु + अङ्गी (स्वर-सन्धि)।

Characters & Entities

• Aśokasundarī
• Huṇḍa

FAQs

Who is Aśokasundarī in this verse?

Aśokasundarī is presented as a young maiden (bālā) characterized by resolve and virtue, undertaking tapas to achieve a specific dharmic aim.

What is the role of tapas (austerity) in this shloka?

Tapas is shown as a disciplined spiritual practice undertaken to accomplish a righteous purpose—here, the destruction of Huṇḍa—implying inner power gained through self-restraint.

What ethical teaching is emphasized here?

The verse links effectiveness in righteous action with moral integrity, highlighting satya (truthfulness) as a defining virtue accompanying spiritual practice.