Shloka 5

Śuka’s Manifestation from the Araṇi (Āraṇeya-janma) — शुकजन्म (आरणेय-सम्भव)

Devanagari script

द्यावापृथिव्योरित्येष राजन्‌ वेदेषु पठ्यते । तयो: शकलयोर्मध्यमाकाशमकरोत्‌ प्रभु:

Transliteration

dyāvāpṛthivyor ity eṣa rājan vedeṣu paṭhyate | tayoḥ śakalayor madhyam ākāśam akarot prabhuḥ |

Translation

阎若伐迦说：“大王啊，吠陀中诵有‘Dyāvā–Pṛthivī’（天与地）之句。主宰从那两半之间的空隙，造作中界——ākāśa，即天地之间的广大虚空。故传统教示：有序的宇宙乃由神力与有度的分判而生，并非出自混沌。”

Word by Word

• द्यावा: heaven (as one of the pair heaven-and-earth)
• द्यावा: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Dual

• पृथिव्योः: of the two earths / of heaven-and-earth (pair)
• पृथिव्योः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Dual

• इति: thus; as (quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• एषः: this
• एषः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• वेदेषु: in the Vedas
• वेदेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• पठ्यते: is recited / is read
• Type: Verb
• Root: पठ् (धातु)
• Form: Present, Passive, Third, Singular

• तयोः: of those two
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: —, Genitive, Dual

• शकलयोः: of the two pieces/halves
• Type: Noun
• Root: शकल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Dual

• मध्यम्: the middle (space)
• मध्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आकाशम्: the sky/space
• आकाशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अकरोत्: made; created
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (Past), Parasmaipada, Third, Singular

• प्रभुः: the Lord; the powerful one
• प्रभुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkya
• King (rājan)
• Dyāvā (Heaven)
• Pṛthivī (Earth)
• Ākāśa
• Vedas
• Prabhu (the Lord/creator)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse grounds cosmology in Vedic testimony: heaven and earth are conceived as two separated realms, and the ordered ‘middle’ (ākāśa) is created between them by the Lord. Ethically, it reinforces that dharma and right knowledge rely on śruti (Vedic authority) and that cosmic order is intentional, not accidental.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yājñavalkya addresses a king and cites a Vedic expression (‘Dyāvā–Pṛthivī’) to explain how the mid-space (ākāśa) came to be—formed by the Lord in the interval between the two cosmic halves (heaven and earth).