Padma Purana — Srishti Khanda, Shloka 192
Brahmā’s Puṣkara Sacrifice and the Manifestation of Sarasvatī
with Tīrtha-Merit Teachings
कोकिलाभिस्स मालेव फेनकैः पुष्पितेव सा । हरेणेव यथा गंगा प्लक्षेणैव हि सा तथा
kokilābhissa māleva phenakaiḥ puṣpiteva sā | hareṇeva yathā gaṃgā plakṣeṇaiva hi sā tathā
杜鹃如花鬘般为她作饰，白花似泡沫般盛开；她显现如是——正如恒河常与诃利相系，她也确然与普拉克沙树相连。
Narrator (contextual description within the ongoing dialogue of the chapter; specific speaker not explicit in this single verse)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shringara
Type: river
Sandhi Resolution Notes: कोकिलाभिस्स = कोकिलाभिः सा; मालेव = माला इव; पुष्पितेव = पुष्पिता इव; हरेणेव = हरेण इव; प्लक्षेणैव = प्लक्षेण एव।
FAQs
It uses nature imagery (cuckoos, foam, flowering) to mark a river or holy watercourse as a tīrtha-like landscape, and then anchors its sanctity through association—Gaṅgā with Hari, and this place with the plakṣa tree—showing how Purāṇic sacred geography is mapped through divine and botanical identifiers.
By presenting Gaṅgā’s holiness as inseparable from Hari, it implies that sanctity is ultimately grounded in relationship to Viṣṇu; the devotional lens (Hari-centered meaning) becomes the measure of sacredness, not merely physical beauty.
The verse suggests discernment in valuing places and practices: outward beauty (birds, blossoms, foam) is elevated by right association—linking one’s life to the divine (Hari) and to dharmic symbols—indicating that purity is strengthened through sacred connection and remembrance.