Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 14

Vena Episode Conclusion: Pṛthu’s Merit and the Greatness of Hearing the Padma Purāṇa in Kali-yuga

Devanagari script

तत्फलं दृश्यते तात पुराणे पद्मसंज्ञके । अश्वमेधमखः पुण्यः कलौ नैव प्रवर्तते

Transliteration

tatphalaṃ dṛśyate tāta purāṇe padmasaṃjñake | aśvamedhamakhaḥ puṇyaḥ kalau naiva pravartate

Translation

ချစ်သားရေ၊ ထိုအကျိုးဖလသည် “ပဒ္မ” ဟုခေါ်သော ပုရာဏ၌ပင် ဖော်ပြထားသည်။ ကလိယုဂ၌ ပုဏ္ဏိယကြီးသော အရှွမေဓ ယဇ్ఞ မပြုလုပ်နိုင်တော့ပေ။

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (Determinative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative)

• फलं: fruit/result
• फलं: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• दृश्यते: is seen/found
• दृश्यते: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive)

• तात: O dear one/father
• तात: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• पुराणे: in the Purāṇa
• पुराणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुराण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• पद्मसंज्ञके: called ‘Padma’
• पद्मसंज्ञके: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पद्म (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘पुराणे’)

• अश्वमेधमखः: the Aśvamedha sacrifice
• अश्वमेधमखः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक) + मख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पुण्यः: meritorious
• पुण्यः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• कलौ: in the Kali (age)
• कलौ: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• एव: indeed/at all
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• प्रवर्तते: proceeds/occurs/is undertaken
• प्रवर्तते: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Unspecified (context-dependent narrator addressing 'tāta')

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: तत्फलं = तत् + फलं; नैव = न + एव

Characters & Entities

• Padma Purana
• Ashvamedha
• Kali Yuga

FAQs

Why does the verse say the Aśvamedha is not practiced in Kali Yuga?

It reflects the Purāṇic yuga-dharma idea that large Vedic royal sacrifices become impractical or inappropriate in Kali due to diminished capacity, resources, and purity; other accessible spiritual practices are emphasized instead.

What does “tatphalaṃ dṛśyate … purāṇe” imply about scriptural authority?

It indicates that the promised spiritual “result” is attested within the Padma Purāṇa itself, presenting the Purāṇa as a valid source for understanding religious merit and practice across ages.

What ethical or practical lesson does this verse convey?

It teaches adaptability in religious life: one should pursue meritorious aims through practices suitable to the time (yuga), rather than insisting on grand rites that cannot be rightly carried out.