Shloka 12

Adhyaya 48 — The Netherworlds

Sanskrit

सृष्ट्वा मनुष्याञ् स विभुरुत्ससर्ज तनुं ततः ।

ज्योत्स्ना समभवत् सा च नक्तान्तेऽहर्मुखे च या ॥

Transliteration

sṛṣṭvā manuṣyān sa vibhur utsasarja tanuṃ tataḥ / jyotsnā samabhavat sā ca naktānte 'harmukhe ca yā

Translation

ครั้นทรงสร้างมนุษย์แล้ว พระผู้เป็นเจ้าอันแผ่ซ่านทั่วสรรพสิ่งนั้นได้สละกายหนึ่งออกไป จากกายนั้นบังเกิด “ชโยตสนา” คือแสงจันทร์ ซึ่งปรากฏในปลายราตรีและยามเริ่มต้นแห่งวัน

Word by Word

सृष्ट्वाhaving created

मनुष्याञ्humans

सःhe

विभुःthe all-pervading lord

उत्ससर्जsent forth / emitted

तनुम्a form/body

ततःthen / thereafter

ज्योत्स्नाmoonlight

समभवत्became / came to be

साshe/that (moonlight)

चand

नक्तान्तेat the end of night

अहर्मुखेat the beginning of day

चand

याwhich

Speakers

Narrative voice (Purāṇic narrator continuing the cosmogonic account); explicit speaker not stated in the verse

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

Brahmā (Prajāpati)

Key Themes

CosmologySarga (creation)Guṇa-theory (implicit)Time-divisions

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Temporal order (night’s end, day’s beginning) is presented as a structured emanation from the Creator—suggesting that time, rhythm, and auspicious transitions (like dawn) are not accidental but woven into dharmic cosmology.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Primarily Sarga (primary creation): the generation of cosmic principles/phenomena such as jyotsnā and the ordering of day-night transitions.

What is the esoteric significance?

Jyotsnā symbolically mediates between opposites (night/day), hinting at a sattvic ‘bridge’ state—an image for liminality where clarity arises as tamas recedes.