Shloka 34

Multi-form Manifestations, Indra–Kāma Incarnations, Pravāha, and the Twofold Buddhi

Sense-Discipline and Exclusive Refuge in Viṣṇu

Devanagari script

सुदर्शनश्च परमः प्रद्युम्नः सांब एव च / सनत्कुमारः सांबश्चषडेते कामरूपकाः

Transliteration

sudarśanaśca paramaḥ pradyumnaḥ sāṃba eva ca / sanatkumāraḥ sāṃbaścaṣaḍete kāmarūpakāḥ

Translation

సుదర్శనుడు, పరముడు, ప్రద్యుమ్నుడు, సాంబుడు; అలాగే సనత్కుమారుడు మరియు సాంబుడు—ఈ ఆరుగురు ‘కామరూపకులు’ (ఇష్టానుసార రూపధారులు) అని చెప్పబడెదరు.

Word by Word

• sudarśanaḥ: Sudarśana
• sudarśanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sudarśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction ‘and’)

• paramaḥ: supreme
• paramaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• pradyumnaḥ: Pradyumna
• pradyumnaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradyumna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sāṃbaḥ: Sāmba
• sāṃbaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāṃba (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात, अवधारणार्थक

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• sanat-kumāraḥ: Sanatkumāra
• sanat-kumāraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sanat + kumāra (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः

• sāṃbaḥ: Sāmba
• sāṃbaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāṃba (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• ṣaṭ: six
• ṣaṭ: Saṅkhyā-viśeṣaṇa (संख्या-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (numeral), प्रथमा, बहुवचनार्थे (used with ete); रूपम् अव्ययवत् (indeclinable-like numeral stem)

• ete: these
• ete: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• kāma-rūpakāḥ: forms/manifestations of Kāma
• kāma-rūpakāḥ: Pratipādya/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāma + rūpaka (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘कामस्य रूपकाः/रूपधारिणः’

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra in the Garuda Purana dialogue frame)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Kāmarūpatva: the capacity to assume forms at will, presented as an attribute of a defined set of divine beings.

Vedantic Theme: Subtle-body plasticity within māyā; form is contingent and governed by higher will/śakti.

Application: Use the list as a mnemonic for Purāṇic cosmology; reflect on impermanence and constructedness of form to reduce rigid identity-clinging.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.28.31-33 (preceding identifications); Garuda Purana 3.28.35 (hierarchy/gradation of desires)

Characters & Entities

• Sudarshana
• Parama
• Pradyumna
• Samba
• Sanatkumara

FAQs

What is the importance of kāmarūpa (assuming forms at will) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights a class of exalted beings described as kāmarūpakāḥ—those who can manifest any form by will—showing the Purana’s taxonomy of spiritual capacities beyond ordinary embodied limitation.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly, it contrasts ordinary souls bound to karma and fixed embodiment with higher beings who are described as free to assume forms at will, implying degrees of spiritual power and liberation from constraint.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use it as a reminder that spiritual discipline aims at mastery over the mind and senses; rather than seeking powers, focus on dharma and devotion, which the Purana treats as the safer path to upliftment.