Shloka 22

The Procedure for the Consecration of a Pond

Devanagari script

रजसा मंडलं कुर्यात्पंचवर्णेन तत्त्ववित् । षोडशारं ततश्चक्रं पद्मगर्भं चतुर्मुखम्

Transliteration

rajasā maṃḍalaṃ kuryātpaṃcavarṇena tattvavit | ṣoḍaśāraṃ tataścakraṃ padmagarbhaṃ caturmukham

Translation

तत्त्ववित् पञ्चवर्णेन रजसा मण्डलं कुर्यात्; ततः षोडशारं चक्रं पद्मगर्भं चतुर्मुखं च विन्यसेत्।

Word by Word

• rajasā: with dust/powder
• rajasā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• maṇḍalam: a circle/diagram
• maṇḍalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kuryāt: should make
• kuryāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pañca-varṇena: with five colors
• pañca-varṇena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (पञ्च वर्णाः यस्य/पञ्चवर्णः)

• tattva-vit: the knower of principles
• tattva-vit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tattva (प्रातिपदिक) + √vid (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (तत्त्वं वेत्ति इति)

• ṣoḍaśa-āram: sixteen-spoked
• ṣoḍaśa-āram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + āra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास; विशेषणम् (चक्रम्)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla/Anukrama (Temporal sequence/काल-क्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमवाचक (then)

• cakram: a wheel/disc (diagram)
• cakram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• padma-garbham: having a lotus in the center
• padma-garbham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक) + garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पद्मं गर्भे यस्य/पद्मगर्भम्); विशेषणम् (चक्रम्)

• catur-mukham: four-faced/four-sided
• catur-mukham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास; विशेषणम् (चक्रम्)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative/ritual instruction context within Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: kuryātpaṃcavarṇena = kuryāt + pañca-varṇena; ṣoḍaśāraṃ = ṣoḍaśa-āram (ā + a sandhi); tataścakraṃ = tataḥ + cakram; padmagarbhaṃ = padma-garbham.

Characters & Entities

• Brahma

FAQs

What is being prescribed in this verse?

It prescribes a ritual/meditative construction of a maṇḍala: a circular diagram made with red pigment and five colours, followed by a sixteen-spoked wheel and a central lotus-associated four-faced form (evoking Brahmā).

Why are “sixteen spokes” and the “lotus” significant?

In Purāṇic and tantric-ritual symbolism, a chakra with fixed counts (like sixteen) and a lotus-center often encode ordered cosmology and principles (tattvas). The lotus especially signals purity and the emergence of creation, commonly associated with Brahmā.

What ethical or spiritual lesson can be inferred from this instruction?

The verse emphasizes disciplined, knowledgeable practice (tattvavit): sacred work is to be done with understanding, precision, and reverence for cosmic order rather than as mere external ritual.