Shloka 37

Adhyaya 49 — Primordial Human Creation, the Rise of Desire, and the Origins of Settlements, Measures, and Agriculture

Sanskrit

परमाणुः परं सूक्ष्मं त्रसरेणुर्महीरजः ।

बालाग्रञ्चैव लिक्षां च यूकां चाथ यवोदरम् ॥

Transliteration

paramāṇuḥ paraṃ sūkṣmaṃ trasareṇur mahīrajaḥ | bālāgraṃ caiva likṣāṃ ca yūkāṃ cātha yavodaram ||

Translation

“paramāṇu（极微）”为最细微之量。其后依次为“trasareṇu（尘埃微粒）”、地尘、发梢之尖、“likṣā（虱卵）”、“yūkā（虱）”，再后为“yava-udara（以大麦粒为度）”。

Word by Word

• परमाणुः: the atom (smallest unit)
• परमाणुः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परमाणु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; मापन-परिमाण-शब्दः

• परम्: supremely/very
• परम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• सूक्ष्मम्: subtle, minute
• सूक्ष्मम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• त्रसरेणुः: a trasareṇu (minute particle)
• त्रसरेणुः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रसरेणु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; परिमाण-शब्दः

• महीरजः: earth-dust (a particle of dust)
• महीरजः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीरज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: मही + रजः (earth + dust)

• बालाग्रम्: the tip of a hair
• बालाग्रम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: बालस्य अग्रं (tip of a hair)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (particle of emphasis)

• लिक्षाम्: a nit (louse-egg)
• लिक्षाम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिक्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; परिमाण-शब्दः

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• यूकाम्: a louse
• यूकाम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यूका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अथ: then/next
• अथ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (then/next)

• यवोदरम्: the ‘belly’/measure of a barley grain
• यवोदरम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यव + उदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: यवस्य उदरम् (the interior/size of a barley grain)

Speakers

• Not explicitly indicated in the provided excerpt (likely within the Purāṇic didactic narration)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Traditional science (māna/pramāṇa)
• Measurement systems

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse foregrounds a graded order from the subtlest to the more graspable, reinforcing a Purāṇic habit of making the cosmos intelligible through measured hierarchies—useful for ritual, architecture, and governance.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Indirectly supports Sarga (ordered description of the world) by supplying standardized measures used in describing space, settlement, and extent; it is not a direct genealogy/manvantara episode.

What is the esoteric significance?

From ‘atom’ to visible measures, it symbolizes the continuum from subtle reality (sūkṣma) to gross manifestation (sthūla), a recurring Purāṇic teaching about layered perception.