Shloka 3

वैष्णवीमायावितानम्, उग्रसेनाभिषेकः, सुधर्मासभा, सांदीपनिगमनम्, पाञ्चजन्य-प्राप्तिः, गुरुदक्षिणा

Devanagari script

कुर्वतां याति यः कालो मातापित्रोर् अपूजनम् तत् खण्डम् आयुषो व्यर्थं साधूनाम् उपजायते

Transliteration

kurvatāṃ yāti yaḥ kālo mātāpitror apūjanam tat khaṇḍam āyuṣo vyarthaṃ sādhūnām upajāyate

Translation

যারা মাতা-পিতার পূজা না করে দিন কাটায়, তাদের যে সময় এভাবে চলে যায়, তা জ্ঞানীদের কাছে জীবনের আয়ু থেকে কাটা এক ব্যর্থ খণ্ড হয়ে ওঠে।

Word by Word

• कुर्वताम्: of those who are doing
• कुर्वताम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु) + शतृ (वर्तमान-कृदन्त)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त-प्रातिपदिकम्; षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), बहुवचनम्; 'of those who do'

• याति: goes, passes
• याति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• यः: which/that (time)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धक-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun)

• कालः: time
• कालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• मातापित्रोः: of mother and father
• मातापित्रोः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माता (प्रातिपदिक) + पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), द्विवचनम्; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः

• अपूजनम्: non-worship, neglect (of honoring)
• अपूजनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-पूजन (√पूज् धातु + ल्युट्/घञ् भाववाचक; with privative a-)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; भाववाचक-नाम (act/state)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Anaphoric/Connector
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• खण्डम्: a portion, a segment
• खण्डम्: Karma/Predicate nominal
• Type: Noun
• Root: खण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• आयुषः: of life
• आयुषः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• व्यर्थम्: wasted, futile
• व्यर्थम्: Predicate adjective
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्यर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विधेय-विशेषणम् (predicative)

• साधूनाम्: of good people
• साधूनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• उपजायते: arises, comes about
• उपजायते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-√जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya in a dharma-instruction passage)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Kṛṣṇa’s instruction on honoring parents in the context of His reunion

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa teaches dharma by declaring that neglect of mother and father makes one’s lifetime fruitless.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Gṛhastha-dharma and social order rooted in reverence to parents

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Time spent without honoring one’s parents is a wasted portion of life even for the wise.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Maintain regular acts of gratitude and service to parents/elders (care, respectful speech, support), treating it as daily sādhana.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma is embodied devotion: service to those who mediate one’s existence (parents) aligns the self with Bhagavān’s order.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Mother
• Father
• Sādhus (the virtuous)

FAQs

What is the significance of honoring parents in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse treats neglect of parents as a direct loss of meaningful life-time—time passes, but it becomes spiritually “wasted” when basic dharma like mātṛ-pitṛ-pūjā is ignored.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the misuse of time in this context?

Parāśara frames time as a measurable portion of one’s lifespan; when spent in apūjana (non-honoring) of parents, it is a “khanda” of life that yields no dharmic fruit for the sādhus.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named, the instruction supports Vaishnava dharma: sustaining social and moral order is part of living in alignment with the Supreme Lord’s cosmic governance, where dharma makes life purposeful.