Sutra 5

Devanagari script

सहोदकयोरपि प्रभूतवापस्थानः श्रेयान् ॥ कZ_०७.१२.०५ ॥

Transliteration

sahodakayorapi prabhūtavāpasthānaḥ śreyān

Translation

Даже среди водных систем с естественным водоснабжением лучше та, где много водохранилищ/мест для прудов (prabhūta-vāpa-sthāna).

Word by Word

• सह: together with; along with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह
• Form: अव्यय; ‘सह’ = ‘सहितम्/साकम्’ (with)

• उदकयोः: of/in the two waters; of/in water (dual)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदक
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी/सप्तमी द्विवचन (Gen./Loc. dual)

• अपि: even; also
• Type: Particle
• Root: अपि
• Form: निपात; समुच्चय/अपवाद/अवधारणार्थक (here: ‘even/also’)

• प्रभूत: abundant; plentiful
• Type: Adjective (Kṛdanta)
• Root: प्र + √भू
• Form: भूत-प्रत्ययान्त (past participial adjective); ‘प्रभूत’ = abundant; here used as पूर्वपद in compound

• वापस्थानः: a place with abundant tanks/reservoirs (water-works)
• Type: Noun (compound)
• Root: वाप + स्थान
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘वाप’ (reservoir/tank) + ‘स्थान’ (place/site) → ‘वापस्थान’ = place having/for tanks; with adjective ‘प्रभूत-’ as karmadhāraya-like qualifier of the compound

• श्रेयान्: is better; is preferable
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेयस्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘श्रेयस्’ (comparative) → ‘श्रेयान्’ = better/superior

Entities Mentioned

• vāpa (tanks/ponds)
• sahodaka waterworks

More Details

FAQs

Why emphasize many tank/reservoir sites rather than a single source?

Distributed storage increases redundancy, stabilizes irrigation, and reduces vulnerability to sabotage or seasonal failure.