Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 37

Bali’s Worship of Sudarshana and Prahlada’s Teaching on Vishnu-Bhakti

Devanagari script

शारीरं मानसं वाग्जं मूर्तामूर्तं चराचरम् दृश्यं स्पृस्यमदृश्यञ्च तत्सर्वं केशवात्मकम्

Transliteration

śārīraṃ mānasaṃ vāgjaṃ mūrtāmūrtaṃ carācaram dṛśyaṃ spṛsyamadṛśyañca tatsarvaṃ keśavātmakam

Translation

Whatever is bodily, mental, or born of speech; whatever is with form or without form; whatever is moving or unmoving; whatever is visible, tangible, or invisible—all of that is of the very nature of Keśava.

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (a theological declaration addressed to the listener in Adhyaya 67).

Primary Deities

• Keśava
• Viṣṇu

Key Themes

• Viśvarūpa / Sarvātmakatva (God as the essence of all)
• Ontology (categories of being)
• Immanence of Viṣṇu
• Unity of sentient-insentient creation

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What doctrine is being taught by listing ‘bodily, mental, verbal… visible, tangible, invisible’?

It is a comprehensive ontological sweep meant to deny any remainder outside the divine: all experiential domains (body, mind, speech) and all modes of being (form/formless; moving/unmoving; visible/invisible) are asserted to be pervaded by Keśava as their essence.

Does ‘keśavātmakam’ imply identity (everything is God) or pervasion (God in everything)?

Purāṇic usage typically supports pervasion and essential dependence: the world is not independent of Keśava; it exists and is knowable because it is grounded in him as inner essence (antar-ātman) and sustaining reality.

How does this relate to worship (pūjā) in the surrounding teaching?

If all categories of existence are Keśava’s ‘ātman,’ then worship is not confined to a single object or place; it is validated as engagement with the all-pervading Lord, reinforcing the salvific claim of the preceding verse.