Shloka 40

Yuga-Dharma: The Four Ages, Decline of Dharma, and the Rise of Social Order

Devanagari script

तासां वृष्ट्यूदकानीह यानि निम्नैर्गतानि तु / अवहन् वृष्टिसंतत्या स्त्रोतः स्थानानि निम्नगाः

Transliteration

tāsāṃ vṛṣṭyūdakānīha yāni nimnairgatāni tu / avahan vṛṣṭisaṃtatyā strotaḥ sthānāni nimnagāḥ

Translation

ณ ที่นี้ น้ำฝนของพวกเขาที่ไหลลงสู่ที่ลุ่ม ถูกพัดพาไปข้างหน้าด้วยความต่อเนื่องแห่งสายฝน; ดังนั้นที่ลุ่มจึงก่อเป็นทางน้ำและร่องธารของแม่น้ำ

Word by Word

• तासाम्: of them
• तासाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/षष्ठी), बहुवचन (Plural); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine)

• वृष्टि-उदकानि: rain-waters
• वृष्टि-उदकानि: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन (Plural)

• इह: here
• इह: देशाधिकरण (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• यानि: which
• यानि: सम्बन्ध (Relative link)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन (Plural); सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• निम्नैः: by low-lying (channels/places)
• निम्नैः: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निम्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/तृतीया), बहुवचन (Plural)

• गतानि: gone/flowed
• गतानि: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषणम् (qualifying उदकानि)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• अवहन्: they carried/transported
• अवहन्: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past/लङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural); परस्मैपदम्

• वृष्टि-संतत्या: by continuous rainfall
• वृष्टि-संतत्या: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + संतति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/तृतीया), एकवचन (Singular)

• स्त्रोतः-स्थानानि: stream-beds/places of streams
• स्त्रोतः-स्थानानि: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्रोतस् (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/द्वितीया), बहुवचन (Plural)

• निम्नगाः: rivers
• निम्नगाः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निम्नगा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/प्रथमा), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Suta (narrator) conveying the Purana’s account of ancient geography and hydrology

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Rain (Vṛṣṭi)
• Streams (Strotas)
• Lowlands/Valleys (Nimnagā)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

This verse is primarily cosmographic rather than directly metaphysical: it frames the world as an ordered manifestation where natural processes (rainfall, flow, channels) operate within dharma-governed creation—an implied backdrop for later teachings on the Self as the witness of all changing phenomena.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit yoga practice is taught in this verse; however, Kurma Purana often uses such creation-descriptions to orient the seeker toward viveka (discernment) and reverence for tirthas—supportive conditions for mantra-japa, purification, and Pashupata-oriented discipline taught elsewhere.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

The verse itself does not name Shiva or Vishnu; it contributes to the shared puranic worldview in which a single sacred order underlies nature—later articulated in the Kurma Purana through Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, where cosmic functions are harmonized rather than opposed.