Shloka 23

Adhyaya 47 — Brahma’s Awakening and the Ninefold Scheme of Creation

Sanskrit

प्रकाशा बहिरन्तश्च ऊर्ध्वस्रोतः समुद्भवाः ।

तुष्टात्मकस्तृतीयस्तु देवसर्गो हि स स्मृतः ॥

Transliteration

prakāśā bahir antaś ca ūrdhvastrotaḥ samudbhavāḥ /

tuṣṭātmakaḥ tṛtīyas tu devasargo hi sa smṛtaḥ ||

Translation

ఊర్ధ్వస్రోతసులుగా జన్మించిన భూతాలు బాహ్యంగా అంతర్గతంగా రెండింటిలోనూ తేజోమయములు. సంతోషస్వరూపమైన ఈ తృతీయ సృష్టి ‘దేవసర్గం’గా స్మరించబడుతుంది.

Word by Word

• prakāśāḥ: luminous, bright
• prakāśāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prakāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine/पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (Plural/बहुवचन)

• bahir: outside
• bahir: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bahis (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (Indeclinable/अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• antaḥ: inside, within
• antaḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: antas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (Indeclinable/अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

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

• ūrdhva-srotaḥ: having upward-flowing channels
• ūrdhva-srotaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक) + srotas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa samāsa (तत्पुरुष), Puṃliṅga (Masculine/पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (Plural/बहुवचन)

• samudbhavāḥ: arisen, originated
• samudbhavāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine/पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (Plural/बहुवचन)

• tuṣṭa-ātmakaḥ: of the nature of contentment (Tuṣṭa)
• tuṣṭa-ātmakaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṣṭa (कृदन्त/ppp) + ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa samāsa (तत्पुरुष), Puṃliṅga (Masculine/पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन)

• tṛtīyaḥ: third
• tṛtīyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine/पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन)

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

• deva-sargaḥ: the creation of the gods
• deva-sargaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa samāsa (तत्पुरुष), Puṃliṅga (Masculine/पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन)

• hi: indeed, for
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Indeclinable/अव्यय), particle (निपात), emphasis/causal nuance

• saḥ: that (it)
• saḥ: Anuvṛtti/Pratyaya (अनुवृत्ति; refers back to devasargaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun/सर्वनाम), Puṃliṅga (Masculine/पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन)

• smṛtaḥ: is remembered/called
• smṛtaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु) + ta (क्त, past passive participle)
• Form: Kṛdanta (कृदन्त), Kta-pratyaya (क्त), Bhūtakāla/PPP sense; Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; passive sense ‘is called/considered’

Speakers

• Narratorial cosmology within the Markandeya Purana’s teaching context (frame-speakers not explicit in these verses)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Brahmā
• Devas (as a class)

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Sarga (Creation)
• Devas
• Sattva
• Tuṣṭi (contentment)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Contentment (tuṣṭi) is presented as a divine trait: it stabilizes mind and supports clarity. Ethically, it implies that agitation and craving (rajas) obscure inner light, while tuṣṭi preserves it.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Sarga: naming and defining the devasarga as a specific stage/order of creation.

What is the esoteric significance?

Deva here is less a mythic species and more a mode of consciousness—luminous, inwardly aligned, and naturally ‘satisfied’ because it rests nearer to its source.