Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 3

The Account of King Yayāti: Kāmasaras, Rati’s Tears, and the Birth of Aśrubindumatī

within the Mātā–Pitṛ Tīrtha Narrative

Devanagari script

तदंतरं तु संप्राप्य संचचार जरा नृपम् । कामेनापि नृपश्रेष्ठ इंद्रकार्यं कृतं हितम्

Transliteration

tadaṃtaraṃ tu saṃprāpya saṃcacāra jarā nṛpam | kāmenāpi nṛpaśreṣṭha iṃdrakāryaṃ kṛtaṃ hitam

Translation

ତାପରେ କିଛି ସମୟ ପରେ ଜରା ଆସି ରାଜାଙ୍କ ଭିତରେ ସଞ୍ଚାର କରିବାକୁ ଲାଗିଲା। ହେ ନୃପଶ୍ରେଷ୍ଠ, କାମଙ୍କ ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଇନ୍ଦ୍ରଙ୍କ ହିତକର କାର୍ଯ୍ୟ ସିଦ୍ଧ ହେଲା।

Word by Word

• तद्-अन्तरम्: after that / thereafter
• तद्-अन्तरम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण/temporal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे ‘thereafter/after that’ इत्यर्थे; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (तस्य अन्तरम्)

• तु: but, then
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/अव्यय (contrast/emphasis particle)

• सम्प्राप्य: having reached/obtained
• सम्प्राप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive); ‘having obtained/reached’

• सञ्चचार: wandered/moved about
• सञ्चचार: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• जरा: old age (personified)
• जरा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नृपम्: the king
• नृपम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• कामेन: by/with Kāma
• कामेन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• अपि: also, even
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/अव्यय (also/even)

• नृपश्रेष्ठ: O best of kings
• नृपश्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (नृपाणां श्रेष्ठः)

• इन्द्रकार्यं: Indra’s task
• इन्द्रकार्यं: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (इन्द्रस्य कार्यम्)

• कृतम्: done, accomplished
• कृतम्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृत (कृदन्त; √कृ)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मणि भावः ‘was done’

• हितम्: beneficial, for good
• हितम्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हित (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √धा with hi- ‘placed/beneficial’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (कृतम्/कार्यं)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (context not provided in the input excerpt)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: tadaṃtaraṃ = तद् + अन्तरम् (द् + अ → द); kāmenāpi = कामेन + अपि; iṃdrakāryaṃ = इन्द्रकार्यं (अनुस्वार-लेखन)।

Characters & Entities

• Jarā
• Kāma
• Indra

FAQs

Who are the main entities referenced in this verse?

The verse explicitly mentions Jarā (old age/decay), Kāma (desire personified, often the deity of love), and Indra (king of the gods), in connection with a king and the completion of Indra’s objective.

What is the central idea conveyed by this shloka?

It highlights a turning point where old age comes upon the king, while simultaneously indicating that Indra’s intended purpose—described as beneficial—has been successfully carried out, even through the agency of Kāma.

What ethical or philosophical lesson can be drawn from this verse?

It suggests the inevitability of aging (Jarā) even for rulers, and implies that larger cosmic or divine aims (Indra’s kārya) may unfold through human emotions and forces like desire (Kāma), reinforcing the theme that worldly conditions and divine purposes can intersect.