Shloka 59

Adhyaya 3 — The Dharmapakshis’ Past-Life Curse and Indra’s Test of Truthfulness

Sanskrit

प्रज्ञाप्राकारसंयुक्तमस्थिस्थूणं परं महत् ।

चर्मभित्तिमहारोधं मांसशोणितलेपनम् ॥

Transliteration

prajñāprākārasaṃyuktam asthisthūṇaṃ paraṃ mahat |

carma-bhitti-mahārodhaṃ māṃsa-śoṇita-lepanam ||

Translation

یہ جسم نہایت عظیم ہے—عقل کی فصیل سے آراستہ؛ ہڈیاں اس کے ستون ہیں، کھال اس کی دیوار ہے، اور چاروں طرف وسیع حصار ہے جو گوشت اور خون کے لیپ سے ملمّع ہے۔

Word by Word

• प्रज्ञा-प्राकार-संयुक्तम्: endowed with the rampart of wisdom
• प्रज्ञा-प्राकार-संयुक्तम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रज्ञा (प्रातिपदिक) + प्राकार (प्रातिपदिक) + संयुक्त (कृदन्त; सम्+युज् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त (क्त), विशेषण; ‘प्रज्ञा-प्राकार’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः, तेन संयुक्तम् = ‘प्रज्ञारूपप्राकारयुक्तम्’

• अस्थि-स्थूणम्: a pillar of bones
• अस्थि-स्थूणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थूण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अस्थ्नां स्थूणम्)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• महत्: great
• महत्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• चर्म-भित्ति-महा-रोधम्: a great barrier of skin-walls
• चर्म-भित्ति-महा-रोधम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + भित्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + महा (प्रातिपदिक) + रोध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: चर्म-भित्तिः (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः) + महा-रोधः (कर्मधारय) → ‘चर्मभित्तिरूपः महा-रोधः’

• मांस-शोणित-लेपनम्: a coating of flesh and blood
• मांस-शोणित-लेपनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस (प्रातिपदिक) + शोणित (प्रातिपदिक) + लेपन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मांसशोणितयोः लेपनम्)

Speakers

• Not from Devi Mahatmyam; likely within the Markandeya Purana’s early didactic narration (exact speaker pair not specified from the given excerpt).

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Philosophical allegory
• Embodiment and impermanence
• Vairagya (dispassion)
• Self-knowledge

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse frames the body as a well-built fort—intelligence as the protective rampart, bones as structural pillars, and skin as the wall—yet it is ultimately a constructed, coated assemblage of perishable materials (flesh and blood). The ethical thrust is toward detachment: do not mistake the fortified appearance of embodiment for lasting security; cultivate discernment (prajñā) and seek what is beyond the body.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This verse is not primarily sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita in content; it belongs to ancillary didactic-philosophical instruction (upadeśa) used within Purāṇic narration rather than a direct pancalakṣaṇa unit.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘fort-city’ symbolism suggests the embodied self is a defended enclosure: prajñā can serve either as worldly strategem (maintaining the fort) or as liberating discrimination (seeing the fort’s constructed nature). ‘Plastered with flesh and blood’ highlights the cosmetic covering over a skeletal frame—an inward-turning contemplation used to weaken identification with the gross body and strengthen insight into the witnessing principle.