Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 42
Sudevā’s Ascent to Heaven
Merit, Hospitality, and Release from Hell
उवाचैकाब्दपुण्यं ते मया दत्तं वरानने । एवमुक्तेन वाक्येन तया देव्या हि तत्क्षणात्
uvācaikābdapuṇyaṃ te mayā dattaṃ varānane | evamuktena vākyena tayā devyā hi tatkṣaṇāt
उवाच—एकाब्दपुण्यं ते मया दत्तं वरानने। एवमुक्तेन वाक्येन तया देव्या हि तत्क्षणात्।
A Goddess (Devī) speaking to an addressed person described as “varānane” (beautiful-faced one).
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: celestial_realm
Sandhi Resolution Notes: पदच्छेदः: उवाच | एकाब्दपुण्यम् | ते | मया | दत्तम् | वरानने । एवम् | उक्तेन | वाक्येन | तया | देव्या | हि | तत्क्षणात् । (उवाचैकाब्दपुण्यं = उवाच + एकाब्दपुण्यम्; तत्क्षणात् = तत् + क्षणात् (अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग).)
FAQs
“Ekābda-puṇya” literally means the religious merit accumulated over “one year” (eka-abda). The verse depicts a Devī granting that measure of merit directly to the addressed person.
It highlights the concept of transferable or bestowed merit (puṇya) through divine grace—where a deity can grant spiritual credit instantly, beyond ordinary time-bound accumulation.
The Sanskrit “tatkṣaṇāt” (“at that very moment”) signals a continuation into the next verse describing what occurred immediately after the Devī spoke; Shloka 42 is syntactically incomplete without the following line(s).