Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 18

The Vena Episode and the Sukalā Narrative: The Speaking Sow, Pulastya’s Curse, and Indra’s Appeal

Devanagari script

तपश्चचार तेजस्वी निर्व्यलीकेन चेतसा । विद्याधरस्तत्र गतः स्वेच्छया स महाप्रभो

Transliteration

tapaścacāra tejasvī nirvyalīkena cetasā | vidyādharastatra gataḥ svecchayā sa mahāprabho

Translation

အို မဟာပရဘုရား၊ ထိုတေဇောဓာတ်ရှိသူသည် လိမ်လည်မှုကင်းသော စိတ်ဖြင့် တပသ်ကို ကျင့်၏။ ထို့နောက် ဗိဒ္ဓာဓရ တစ်ဦးသည် မိမိဆန္ဒအတိုင်း ထိုနေရာသို့ ရောက်လာ၏။

Word by Word

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

• चकार: performed
• चकार: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तेजस्वी: splendid, radiant
• तेजस्वी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तेजस्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (पुलस्त्यः)

• निर्व्यलीकेन: with guileless (mind)
• निर्व्यलीकेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्व्यलीक (प्रातिपदिक; निर् + व्यलीक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; विशेषण (चेतसा)

• चेतसा: with mind
• चेतसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• विद्याधरः: a Vidyādhara
• विद्याधरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्याधर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• गतः: went/has gone
• गतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle) प्रयुक्तः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (अस्ति-लोपेण)

• स्वेच्छया: by his own will
• स्वेच्छया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वेच्छा (प्रातिपदिक; स्व + इच्छा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; हेतौ/प्रकारे (by one’s own will)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• महाप्रभो: O great lord
• महाप्रभो: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाप्रभु (प्रातिपदिक; महा + प्रभु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual address to 'mahāprabho' within the ongoing dialogue of the chapter)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: तपः + चकार → तपश्चकार (विसर्ग-सन्धि); विद्याधरः + तत्र → विद्याधरस्तत्र; स्व + इच्छा + या → स्वेच्छया

Characters & Entities

• Vidyādhara

FAQs

What spiritual quality is emphasized in this verse about tapas?

It stresses sincerity: austerities should be performed with a mind free from deceit (nirvyalīka-cetas), implying inner purity is essential for spiritual practice.

Who are the Vidyādharas mentioned in Purāṇic literature?

Vidyādharas are celestial or semi-divine beings, often associated with supernatural knowledge (vidyā) and movement through the skies; they appear as visitors or agents within Purāṇic narratives.

What is the ethical lesson conveyed by the phrase 'nirvyalīkena cetasā'?

The verse teaches that discipline and religious acts gain value when rooted in honesty and transparency of intention, not performance, manipulation, or hypocrisy.