Shloka 50

Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank

Devanagari script

कर्णावाकाशपाताले ललाटं भूतधारिणी । गड़ा सरस्वती श्रोण्यौ भ्रुवावास्तां महोदधी

Transliteration

karṇāv ākāśapātāle lalāṭaṁ bhūtadhāriṇī | gaṅgā sarasvatī śroṇyau bhruvāv āstāṁ mahodadhī ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana nói: “Trời và cõi dưới (Pātāla) là đôi tai của nàng; Đất—đấng nâng đỡ muôn loài—là vầng trán. Sông Gaṅgā và Sarasvatī là đôi hông; còn hai đại dương là đôi lông mày.”

Word by Word

• कर्णौ: two ears
• कर्णौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• आकाश: sky
• आकाश: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• पाताले: two netherworlds (pātālas)
• पाताले: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Dual

• ललाटम्: forehead
• ललाटम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ललाट
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• भूतधारिणी: bearing (supporting) all beings
• भूतधारिणी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूतधारिणी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• गङ्गा: Ganga
• गङ्गा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• सरस्वती: Sarasvati
• सरस्वती: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• श्रोण्यौ: two hips/buttocks
• श्रोण्यौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रोणी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Dual

• भ्रुवौ: two eyebrows
• भ्रुवौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रू
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Dual

• आस्ताम्: were (the two were)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Dual, Parasmaipada

• महोदधी: two great oceans
• महोदधी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महोदधि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Ākāśa (Sky)
• Pātāla
• Pṛthivī (Earth)
• Gaṅgā
• Sarasvatī
• Mahodadhi (Great Oceans)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents a cosmic-body metaphor in which Earth and its features are sacred supports of life. Ethically, it implies dharma as stewardship: honoring and protecting the natural order that sustains all beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a vast, personified cosmic figure (centered on Earth), mapping major realms and waters—sky, netherworld, rivers, and oceans—onto bodily parts to convey the grandeur and integrative structure of the world.