Shloka 53

Adhyaya 58 — The Kurma-Form of Narayana: Mapping Bharata through Nakshatras, Regions, and Planetary Afflictions

Sanskrit

पूर्वोत्तरन्तु कूर्मस्य पदामेते समाश्रिताः ।

रेवत्यश्चाश्विदैवत्यं याम्यञ्चर्क्षमिति त्रयम् ॥

Transliteration

pūrvottarantu kūrmasya padāmete samāśritāḥ / revatyaścāśvidaivatyaṃ yāmyañcarkṣamiti trayam

Translation

ఈ మూడు నక్షత్రాలు—రేవతి, అశ్వినిదేవత కలిగిన అశ్విని, మరియు యామ్యమని చెప్పబడే భరణి—విశ్వకూర్ముని తూర్పు మరియు ఉత్తర పాదాలలో స్థితమని చెప్పబడుతున్నాయి।

Word by Word

• pūrva-uttaram: the eastern and northern (direction)
• pūrva-uttaram: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; द्वन्द्वसमासः; used adverbially as direction ‘east-north’

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात/पदार्थ-विशेषक (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• kūrmasya: of (the constellation) Kūrma
• kūrmasya: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūrma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन

• padāni: quarters/sections (padas)
• padāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), बहुवचन

• ete: these
• ete: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally

• samāśritāḥ: are situated/are based
• samāśritāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-śri (धातु) → samāśrita (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत् (past passive participle, क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; agrees with ‘padāni’ in sense ‘are situated/are based’

• revatyaḥ: Revatī (nakṣatra)
• revatyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: revatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; name of nakṣatra(s)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction ‘and’)

• āśvi-daivatyam: (the one) whose deity is the Aśvins
• āśvi-daivatyam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āśvin (प्रातिपदिक) + daivatya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘of the Aśvins’); used as a nakṣatra-epithet

• yāmyam: Yāmya (nakṣatra/related asterism)
• yāmyam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; name/epithet of nakṣatra

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• ṛkṣam: the asterism (ṛkṣa)
• ṛkṣam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; ‘asterism/nakṣatra’

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/समाप्ति-सूचक (quotative/end-marker ‘thus’)

• trayam: a set of three
• trayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; numeral substantive ‘a triad’

Speakers

• Not specified in the provided excerpt (continuation of an instructional discourse)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Aśvins
• Yama

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Jyotiṣa
• Omenology
• Sacred geography

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Human experience is portrayed as interwoven with cosmic order: regions and peoples are said to receive predictable influences from time-cycles (nakṣatras), encouraging humility and preparedness rather than fatalism.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Primarily within Vaṃśānucarita/Manvantara-style cosmological description (ancillary material): it is not sarga/pratisarga directly, but a calendrical–cosmic mapping used for interpreting events in the world.

What is the esoteric significance?

The kūrma model symbolizes the universe as a living body; assigning nakṣatras to its ‘feet/quarters’ encodes a mandalic geography where time (lunar stations) anchors space (directions/regions).