Shloka 55

Yoga-Sleep, Cosmic Dissolution, and the Lotus of Creation

with Mārkaṇḍeya’s Vision

Devanagari script

घ्रेयं घ्राणं शरीरं च पृथिवीसंश्रिता गुणाः । लोकयात्रा भगवता मुहूर्तेन विनाशिता

Transliteration

ghreyaṃ ghrāṇaṃ śarīraṃ ca pṛthivīsaṃśritā guṇāḥ | lokayātrā bhagavatā muhūrtena vināśitā

Translation

Ang naaamoy, ang pang-amoy, at ang katawan—ang mga katangiang ito’y nananahan sa sangkap na lupa. Gayunman, winawasak ng Bhagavān sa isang kisapmata ang landas ng pag-iral sa daigdig.

Word by Word

• ghreyam: that which is to be smelled; smell-object
• ghreyam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghrā (धातु) → ghreya (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कृदन्त: यत्-प्रत्यय (gerundive/future passive participle) = ‘घ्रातव्यम्/घ्रेयम्’ (to be smelled)

• ghrāṇam: nose; organ of smell
• ghrāṇam: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument; sense-organ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghrāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• śarīram: body
• śarīram: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location-context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

• pṛthivī-saṃśritāḥ: resting on earth
• pṛthivī-saṃśritāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃ-śri (धातु) → saṃśrita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कृदन्त: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle) ‘संश्रित’ = ‘आश्रित’; तत्पुरुष-समास (पृथिवीं संश्रिताः)

• guṇāḥ: qualities
• guṇāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• loka-yātrā: the course/continuance of the world
• loka-yātrā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (लोकस्य यात्रा)

• bhagavatā: by the Lord
• bhagavatā: Karta (कर्ता/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• muhūrtena: in a moment; by a moment
• muhūrtena: Kāla (काल/Time-instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muhūrta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• vināśitā: was destroyed
• vināśitā: Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicate; passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-nāś (धातु) → vināśita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कृदन्त: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle) = ‘विनाशिता’ (destroyed)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative voice within Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: pṛthivīsaṃśritā = pṛthivī-saṃśritāḥ; lokayātrā = loka-yātrā.

Characters & Entities

• Bhagavān (the Lord)

FAQs

What is the verse saying about the earth-element (pṛthivī) and smell?

It links smell (the object), the nose (the sense organ), and embodied existence to the earth-element, reflecting the classical five-element (pañcabhūta) mapping where odor is the distinctive quality of earth.

How can the Lord ‘destroy worldly existence in a moment’?

The verse emphasizes divine grace and liberating knowledge: when the Lord bestows realization or removes ignorance, the binding force of saṃsāra can end instantly, even if the body and senses still appear to function.

What ethical or spiritual lesson does this verse teach?

Do not mistake sensory-embodied life for ultimate reality; cultivate devotion and discernment, trusting that liberation is not merely gradual effort but also depends on the Lord’s power to cut bondage swiftly.