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Shloka 38

Durjaya, Urvaśī, and the Expiation at Vārāṇasī

Genealogy and Sin-Removal through Viśveśvara

संवत्सरद्वादशकं कन्दमूलफलाशनः / भूय एव द्वादशकं वायुभक्षो ऽभवन्नृपः

saṃvatsaradvādaśakaṃ kandamūlaphalāśanaḥ / bhūya eva dvādaśakaṃ vāyubhakṣo 'bhavannṛpaḥ

संवत्सरद्वादशकं कन्दमूलफलाशनः । भूय एव द्वादशकं वायुभक्षोऽभवन्नृपः ॥

saṃvatsara-dvādaśakamfor twelve years
saṃvatsara-dvādaśakam:
Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Time-span)
TypeNoun
Rootsaṃvatsara (प्रातिपदिक) + dvādaśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular; duration-accusative (कालाधिकरणे द्वितीया)
kanda-mūla-phala-āśanaḥeating bulbs, roots, and fruits
kanda-mūla-phala-āśanaḥ:
Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
TypeAdjective
Rootkanda (प्रातिपदिक) + mūla (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक) + āśana (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular; ‘one whose food is bulbs, roots, and fruits’
bhūyaḥagain/further
bhūyaḥ:
Kriya-vishesana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootbhūyaḥ (अव्यय)
FormAvyaya, adverb (पुनः/अधिकम्)
evaindeed/just
eva:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
TypeIndeclinable
Rooteva (अव्यय)
FormAvyaya, emphatic particle (अवधारण-निपात)
dvādaśakam(another) twelve (years)
dvādaśakam:
Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Time-span)
TypeNoun
Rootdvādaśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular; duration-accusative
vāyu-bhakṣaḥliving on air
vāyu-bhakṣaḥ:
Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
TypeAdjective
Rootvāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular; predicate adjective of nṛpaḥ
abhavatbecame/was
abhavat:
Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
TypeVerb
Rootbhū (धातु)
FormImperfect (लङ्), 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada
nṛpaḥthe king
nṛpaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootnṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing King Indradyumna’s tapas)

Primary Rasa: vira

Secondary Rasa: shanta

I
Indradyumna
T
Tapas
V
Vairagya
P
Prāṇa (Vāyu)

FAQs

By depicting progressive renunciation—moving from minimal food to living on prāṇa (air)—the verse points to the Atman as independent of bodily cravings, approached through detachment and austerity.

It highlights tapas as a yogic discipline: regulated diet (mitāhāra), gradual withdrawal from sensory dependence, and prāṇa-centered endurance—elements that align with Purāṇic Yoga and the Pāśupata-leaning emphasis on self-restraint.

While not naming Shiva or Vishnu directly, the tapas-ideal is shared across Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis in the Kurma Purana: disciplined renunciation is presented as a common means toward the one Supreme Reality revered through multiple divine forms.