Shloka 16

Adhyaya 49 — Cosmic Dissolution

Sanskrit

पिशाचोरगरक्षांसि तथा मत्सरिणो जनाः ।

पशवः पक्षिणश्चैव नक्रा मत्स्याः सरीसृपाः ॥

Transliteration

piśācoragarakṣāṃsi tathā matsariṇo janāḥ |

paśavaḥ pakṣiṇaś caiva nakrā matsyāḥ sarīsṛpāḥ ||

Translation

पिशाचाः सर्पा राक्षसाश्च तथा मात्सर्ययुक्ता जनाः। पशवः पक्षिणश्चैव, ग्राहाः मत्स्याः सरीसृपाः॥

Word by Word

• piśāca-uraga-rakṣāṃsi: piśācas, serpents, and rākṣasas
• piśāca-uraga-rakṣāṃsi: Karta (कर्ता/subject—listed beings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piśāca (प्रातिपदिक) + uraga (प्रातिपदिक) + rakṣas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); dvandva ‘piśācas, serpents, and rākṣasas’

• tathā: likewise, also
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb/particle (तथा—also/likewise), indeclinable (अव्यय)

• matsariṇaḥ: envious
• matsariṇaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: matsarin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); adjective qualifying जनाः

• janāḥ: people
• janāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject—listed beings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• paśavaḥ: animals
• paśavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject—listed beings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paśu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• pakṣiṇaḥ: birds
• pakṣiṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject—listed beings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक), indeclinable (अव्यय)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (एव), indeclinable (अव्यय)

• nakrāḥ: crocodiles
• nakrāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject—listed beings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• matsyāḥ: fish
• matsyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject—listed beings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: matsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• sarīsṛpāḥ: reptiles/creeping creatures
• sarīsṛpāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject—listed beings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarīsṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

Speakers

• Narrative voice (frame not specified in input)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Sarga (creation)
• Classes of beings
• Moral taxonomy (envy as a trait)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The list places ‘matsariṇaḥ janāḥ’ (envious humans) alongside dangerous species and hostile beings, implying envy is a destructive, predatory disposition. Ethical decline is thus treated as a kind of inner ‘demonology’.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Sarga: enumeration of created categories of beings (bhūta-sarga) and their types within the manifested world.

What is the esoteric significance?

Piśāca/rākṣasa can also be read as inner psychological forces (obsession, aggression). The verse compresses an outer zoological list with an inner moral warning: the ‘demonic’ is not only a species but a guṇa-driven tendency.