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Sanskrit recitation · Devi Satsang reference recording. The same audio accompanies all four scripts; the recitation’s wording may differ from the selected edition.
About these study notes: English meanings and explanations were generated with AI assistance and have not been independently reviewed by a Sanskrit scholar. Sanskrit text follows the cited source editions.
02 / PHRASE STUDY · PADĀRTHAShownHidden
A phrase at a time.
7 selected phrases
Follow the words into meaning. Select a phrase to locate it in the verse above. Short phrases and compound parts; read adjacent entries together for the full sentence.
Phrases follow your chosen script. Meanings are concise editorial study aids.
Śloka 88: Overview
Selected phrase
Meaning in context
Your forefoot is a home of praise and no place for calamity.
How have good poets compared it to a hard tortoise shell?
And how could the destroyer of the cities, at your wedding—
take it in his hands and set it on stone with a tender heart?
Selected phrases and English meanings for Śloka 88
Selected phrase
Meaning in context
your forefoot, a seat of glory; no place for misfortune, O divine one
how did poets bring it
into comparison with a hard tortoise shell?
and how, in his two arms, at the wedding
by Śiva, destroyer of the cities
was it lifted and placed on stone
with a compassionate heart?
Selected words and compound parts are shown in IAST; this is a focused vocabulary study, not an exhaustive grammatical analysis. The source phrase below each follows your selected script. Locate highlights that unchanged source phrase; reconstructed word forms are not substituted into the verse.
Śloka 88: Words
Word / source phrase
Meaning in context
forefoot
of misfortunes
how
hard
tortoise
shell
marriage
on stone
with a heart / mind
About these phrase meanings
Short phrases and parts of compounds, not a complete word-by-word translation. Original sandhi and spelling are retained; some words continue across printed lines. Read the entries together. Brackets in the English supply context rather than additional Sanskrit words.
The English explanations are editorial study aids and have not been reviewed by a Sanskrit scholar. Consult a teacher or full commentary for grammatical and interpretive detail. Telugu-Vigananam keeps its printed spellings, hyphens, and variant readings; the English follows the base Sanskrit unless a note explains a difference.
03 / SIMPLE MEANINGShownHidden
A first understanding.
The poet questions comparing the upper surface of Her feet to a hard tortoise shell, and wonders how tender-hearted Śiva placed such feet on stone during the wedding rite.
CONDENSED EDITORIAL PARAPHRASE
04 / DETAILED MEANINGShownHidden
How the verse unfolds.
The poet questions a conventional comparison of the foot with a tortoise shell because hardness conflicts with the tenderness he wishes to honour. A likeness of shape is judged inadequate to the feeling of the description.
The wedding placement on stone then raises a similar question about tender-hearted Śiva. Both questions organise praise through concern for the feet. The verse shows that poetry can challenge its own conventions from within an act of devotion.
EDITORIAL EXPLANATION · NOT A TRADITIONAL COMMENTARY
05 / DEEPER CONTEMPLATIONShownHidden
A question to carry.
When does an accurate-looking comparison still miss what matters most about its subject?