Shloka 2

Adhyaya 53 — Rudrasarga and the Measure of the Manvantaras: Svayambhuva Manu, Priyavrata’s Line, and the Seven Dvipas

Sanskrit

मन्वन्तरप्रमाणञ्च देवा देवर्षयस्तथा ।

ये च क्षितीशा भगवन् देवेन्द्रश्चैव यस्तथा ॥

Transliteration

manvantarapramāṇañ ca devā devarṣayas tathā | ye ca kṣitīśā bhagavan devendraś caiva yas tathā

Translation

Скажи также меру (длительность) Манвантары, богов и божественных риши, и земных царей, о Блаженный, и равно — кто является Индрой в тот период.

Word by Word

• manvantara-pramāṇam: the measure/duration of a Manvantara
• manvantara-pramāṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manvantara (प्रातिपदिक) + pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• devāḥ: the gods
• devāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Plural

• deva-ṛṣayaḥ: the divine seers
• deva-ṛṣayaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Plural

• tathā: also
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb/particle meaning 'also/likewise'

• ye: who/which
• ye: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Plural; relative pronoun

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• kṣitīśāḥ: kings/lords of the earth
• kṣitīśāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣitīśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Plural

• bhagavan: O Lord
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative Singular

• devendraḥ: Indra, lord of gods
• devendraḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devendra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Singular; relative pronoun

• tathā: likewise/also
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb/particle

Speakers

• Krauṣṭuki → Mārkaṇḍeya (requested items)

Primary Deities

• Indra

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Sacred chronology
• Purāṇic cataloguing (lists of officials of an age)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Each epoch has its own administrators—gods, sages, kings—implying dharma is upheld through coordinated roles rather than isolated power.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Manvantara: specification of time-measure and the recurring offices (Indra, devas, ṛṣis, kings) per Manu-cycle.

What is the esoteric significance?

Indra and the ‘officials’ of an age symbolize operative faculties of the cosmos; the inquiry maps a metaphysical order onto a comprehensible administrative template.