Shloka 25

मानवसर्गः, चातुर्वर्ण्य-गुणकर्म, यज्ञ-प्रतिपादनम्, आश्रमधर्म-फल, नरकवर्णनम्

Devanagari script

श्यामाकास् त्व् अथ नीवारा जर्तिलाः सगवेधुकाः तथा वेणुयवाः प्रोक्तास् तद्वन् मर्कटका मुने

Transliteration

śyāmākās tv atha nīvārā jartilāḥ sagavedhukāḥ tathā veṇuyavāḥ proktās tadvan markaṭakā mune

Translation

E então são mencionados os grãos e cereais silvestres chamados śyāmāka, nīvāra, jartilā e os ditos sagavedhukā; do mesmo modo se fala do veṇu-yava—assim também, ó sábio, do markaṭaka.

Word by Word

• श्यामाकाः: millet grains (śyāmāka)
• श्यामाकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्यामाक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम्

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः/पदपूरणः (particle; contrast/emphasis)

• अथ: then/now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (sequencing particle)

• नीवाराः: wild rice (nīvāra)
• नीवाराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नीवार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• जर्तिलाः: jartila grains (a kind of seed)
• जर्तिलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जर्तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• सगवेधुकाः: (grains) along with gavedhuka
• सगवेधुकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स + गवेधुक (प्रातिपदिक); गवेधुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (सहित/स-पूर्वकः)

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (conjunctive adverb)

• वेणुयवाः: bamboo-barley (a kind of grain)
• वेणुयवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेणु + यव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: वेणोः यवाः)

• प्रोक्ताः: are said/declared
• प्रोक्ताः: Karma (Predicate complement/कर्म-भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) → प्रोक्त (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; (अत्र विधेय-विशेषणवत्)

• तद्वत्: similarly/likewise
• तद्वत्: Sambandha (Comparison/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय/तद्धित)
• Form: अव्ययम् (comparative adverb: ‘like that’)

• मर्कटकाः: markaṭaka grains (a kind of seed)
• मर्कटकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्कटक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (8th/Vocative), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Account of created plants/grains and their classifications within the ordered world

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of listing grains like śyāmāka and nīvāra in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse belongs to a creation-era catalogue that maps the ordered diversity of the world; naming grains and wild cereals shows how cosmic creation includes practical life-supporting resources within a structured universe.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the created world in this chapter?

Parāśara teaches Maitreya through systematic enumeration—grouping and naming classes of entities (here, plant/grain types)—to present creation as intelligible, ordered, and sustained within a larger cosmic framework.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when the verse is a natural catalogue, the Purana’s underlying view is that such ordered multiplicity arises within Vishnu’s sovereign cosmic order—creation is not random, but an expression of the Supreme Reality’s sustaining governance.