Shloka 35

Description and Measurements of Śākadvīpa

with Oceans, Mountains, Varṣas, and Rivers

Devanagari script

मृगाश्च ब्रह्मभूयिष्ठाः स्वकर्मनिरता द्विजाः । मशकेषु तु राजन्या धार्मिकाः सर्वकामदाः

Transliteration

mṛgāśca brahmabhūyiṣṭhāḥ svakarmaniratā dvijāḥ | maśakeṣu tu rājanyā dhārmikāḥ sarvakāmadāḥ

Translation

मृगेषु ब्रह्मभूयिष्ठाः स्वकर्मनिरता द्विजाः; मशकेषु तु राजन्याः धार्मिकाः सर्वकामदाः।

Word by Word

• mṛgāḥ: the Mṛgas
• mṛgāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (topic/subject group)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध) (coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• brahmabhūyiṣṭhāḥ: mostly Brahmin-like
• brahmabhūyiṣṭhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (as qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahman + bhūyiṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); tatpuruṣa: brahma + bhūyiṣṭha ('mostly Brahman-like/mostly Brahmins'); bhūyiṣṭha = superlative sense ('very much/mostly')

• svakarmaniratāḥ: devoted to their own duties
• svakarmaniratāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (as qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva + karma + nirata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); tatpuruṣa: sva-karma + nirata ('engaged in one’s own duties')

• dvijāḥ: twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate noun/apposition to mṛgāḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); karmadhāraya/dvigu-like formation: dvi + ja ('twice-born')

• maśakeṣu: among the Maśakas
• maśakeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण) (locus: among whom)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी), Plural (बहुवचन); 'among/in the Maśakas'

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध) (contrast)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात): contrast/emphasis

• rājanyāḥ: Kṣatriyas (royal class)
• rājanyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate noun for implied subject: people among Maśakas)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājanya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); 'Kṣatriyas/royal class' (predicate/apposition)

• dhārmikāḥ: righteous
• dhārmikāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (as qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhārmika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• sarvakāmadāḥ: granting all desires
• sarvakāmadāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (as qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva + kāma + da (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); tatpuruṣa: sarva-kāma + da ('giver of all desires')

Speaker

Unspecified (context-dependent within Adhyaya 8; likely a narrator addressing a king: 'rājan')

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: hasya

Geographic Context

Type: celestial_realm

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: मृगाश्च = मृगाः + च

FAQs

Why does the verse compare deer to ‘twice-born’ and mosquitoes to ‘kṣatriya-like’?

It uses a didactic analogy: even within animal classes there are gradations of qualities that resemble human dharmic archetypes (brahmin-like devotion to duty; kṣatriya-like righteousness and power).

What is the ethical message of this shloka?

The verse stresses that dharma and excellence are not merely matters of category or birth; qualities such as duty, righteousness, and capability can be found in unexpected places.

Does ‘sarvakāmadāḥ’ mean literal wish-fulfillment?

In puranic style it can indicate exceptional efficacy or potency; depending on context it may be literal (boon-giving) or figurative (highly effective in producing results).