Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 44

Adhyāya 283: Varṇa-vṛtti, Nyāya-ārjana, and the Decline-and-Restoration of Dharma (वर्णवृत्तिः न्यायार्जनं च)

क्षीरनद्यो5थ दृश्यते घृतपायसकर्दमा: । दघिमण्डोदका दिव्या: खण्डशर्करवालुका:

kṣīranadyo 'tha dṛśyante ghṛtapāyasakardamāḥ | dadhimaṇḍodakā divyāḥ khaṇḍaśarkaravālukāḥ ||

அங்கே பால் நிறைந்த தெய்வீக நதிகள் ஓடுவது போலத் தெரிந்தது; நெய் மற்றும் பாயசம் கலந்த சேறு தரையில் படிந்திருந்தது. தயிரும் மோரும்நீர் போல ஓடின; கரும்புச் சர்க்கரைக் கட்டிகளும் சுத்தச் சர்க்கரையும் மணல்போல் பரவிக் கிடந்தன.

क्षीरनद्यःrivers of milk
क्षीरनद्यः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootक्षीरनदी
FormFeminine, Nominative, Plural
अथthen/and
अथ:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअथ
दृश्यतेis seen/appears
दृश्यते:
TypeVerb
Rootदृश्
FormPresent, Third, Singular, Atmanepada (passive sense)
घृतपायसकर्दमाःmire/mud of ghee and rice-pudding
घृतपायसकर्दमाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootघृतपायसकर्दम
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
दधिमण्डोदकाःwaters of curd and buttermilk
दधिमण्डोदकाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootदधिमण्डोदक
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
दिव्याःdivine
दिव्याः:
TypeAdjective
Rootदिव्य
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
खण्डशर्करवालुकाःsands of raw-sugar and sugar
खण्डशर्करवालुकाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootखण्डशर्करवालुका
FormFeminine, Nominative, Plural

दक्ष उवाच

D
Dakṣa
R
rivers of milk
G
ghee
P
pāyasa (sweet rice)
C
curd (dadhi)
M
maṇḍa (buttermilk/whey)
K
khaṇḍa (raw sugar)
Ś
śarkarā (sugar)
S
sand (vālukā)

Educational Q&A

The verse uses hyperbolic, celestial abundance—milk-rivers and sugar-sand—to evoke a realm shaped by merit and sacred order, suggesting that righteous conduct and ritual potency are imagined to yield a world of nourishment, purity, and plenitude.

Dakṣa is describing a wondrous, otherworldly landscape where ordinary natural features are transformed into auspicious substances: rivers flow with milk and fermented dairy, and the terrain is strewn with ghee, sweet rice, and sugars, emphasizing the extraordinary nature of the place being depicted.