Shloka 18

Puruṣottama-māhātmya

The Greatness of Puruṣottama Kṣetra

Devanagari script

इंद्रियाणां मनो यद्वद्भूतानामवनी यथा । अश्वत्थः सर्ववृक्षाणां पवनः पवतां यथा ॥ १८ ॥

Transliteration

iṃdriyāṇāṃ mano yadvadbhūtānāmavanī yathā | aśvatthaḥ sarvavṛkṣāṇāṃ pavanaḥ pavatāṃ yathā || 18 ||

Translation

正如诸根之中以心为先，万有之中以大地为尊；正如阿湿婆他（圣榕/圣无花果）为树中之最，风为诸吹动者之首——同样，那至上原理亦当被视为最为卓越。

Word by Word

• इन्द्रियाणाम्: of the senses
• इन्द्रियाणाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• मनः: mind
• मनः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• यद्वत्: just as
• यद्वत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (as/just as)

• भूतानाम्: of beings/elements
• भूतानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• अवनी: earth
• अवनी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• यथा: as/like
• यथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक

• अश्वत्थः: aśvattha (sacred fig)
• अश्वत्थः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वत्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• सर्ववृक्षाणाम्: of all trees
• सर्ववृक्षाणाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सर्वेषां वृक्षाणाम्)

• पवनः: wind
• पवनः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पवताम्: of those that blow (winds)
• पवताम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक (पुं. “blowing ones”)

• यथा: as/like
• यथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक

Speaker

Suta (narrating the Narada Purana discourse)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: none

Characters & Entities

• Ashvattha
• Pavana
• Avani
• Manas

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in Narada Purana?

It teaches recognition of the “foremost” (śreṣṭha) principle through familiar hierarchies in nature—mind over senses, earth as support, aśvattha among trees, and wind among movers—guiding the reader to honor the supreme as the highest refuge.

How does this verse explain the path of devotion (Bhakti)?

By training the devotee to discern what is central and sustaining, the verse supports bhakti as single-pointed reverence: just as one honors what is pre-eminent in each domain, one should place the highest devotion in the Supreme (commonly understood in the Purana as Vishnu/Narayana).

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

The verse mainly reflects a Nyāya-like method of teaching by analogy (dṛṣṭānta) and classification (padārtha-viveka), useful for clear exposition in Vyākaraṇa/Nirukta-style interpretation, rather than prescribing a specific ritual or astrological rule.