Shloka 17

Multi-form Manifestations, Indra–Kāma Incarnations, Pravāha, and the Twofold Buddhi

Sense-Discipline and Exclusive Refuge in Viṣṇu

Devanagari script

चतुर्दशसु चेन्द्रेषु सप्तमो यः पुरन्दरः / वृत्रादीनां शरीरं तु पुरमित्युच्यते बुधैः

Transliteration

caturdaśasu cendreṣu saptamo yaḥ purandaraḥ / vṛtrādīnāṃ śarīraṃ tu puramityucyate budhaiḥ

Translation

Trong mười bốn vị Indra, vị thứ bảy được gọi là Purandara. Thân thể của Vṛtra và những kẻ khác, bậc hiền trí nói, được gọi là “pura”, tức thành trì/đô thành.

Word by Word

• caturdaśasu: among the fourteen
• caturdaśasu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturdaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः (संख्यापूर्वकः): चतुर्दश (14)

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

• indreṣu: among the Indras
• indreṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), बहुवचन

• saptamaḥ: the seventh
• saptamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saptama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• purandaraḥ: Purandara (Indra)
• purandaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purandara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नाम (epithet)

• vṛtra-ādīnām: of Vṛtra and others
• vṛtra-ādīnām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtra + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः: वृत्रः आदिः येषाम् (वृत्रादयः) → तेषाम्

• śarīram: body
• śarīram: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अवधारण-निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• puram: city, fortress
• puram: Karma (कर्म/Object complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण-निपात (quotative)

• ucyate: is called
• ucyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लट्, कर्मणि (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• budhaiḥ: by the wise
• budhaiḥ: Karana (करण/Agent-instrument in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: budha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), बहुवचन

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra in the Garuda Purana dialogue frame)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic offices recur across cycles; names encode functions; ‘pura’ as body/fortress is an interpretive etymology linking myth to meaning.

Vedantic Theme: Nāma–rūpa and functional designation (upādhi) in cosmic governance; knowledge as classification of roles rather than ultimate reality.

Application: Read puranic names as functional descriptors; understand leadership as duty-bound office within time-cycles, not absolute identity.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Geographic Context

Type: celestial city/realm

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana cosmological lists of manvantaras and Indras in adjacent adhyāyas; References to Vṛtra/Indra appear in puranic myth sections explaining divine epithets

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Purandara
• Vritra

FAQs

What is the importance of Purandara in the Garuda Purana?

This verse identifies Purandara as the seventh among the fourteen Indras, highlighting a Purāṇic cosmological ordering and Indra’s well-known epithet.

How does this verse explain the idea of a ‘pura’ (city/fortress)?

It states that the ‘pura’ can denote a body—like that of Vṛtra and others—implying the body is a fortified ‘city’ inhabited/animated by an inner principle.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat the body as a temporary ‘city’ to be maintained with discipline and ethics, without mistaking it for the enduring self.