Shloka 142

Prākṛta-pralaya, Pratisarga Doctrine, and the Ishvara-Samanvaya of Yoga and Devotion

Devanagari script

पराशरो ऽपि भगवान गङ्गाद्वारे मुनीश्वराः / मुनिभ्यः कथयामास धर्मकामार्थमोक्षदम्

Transliteration

parāśaro 'pi bhagavāna gaṅgādvāre munīśvarāḥ / munibhyaḥ kathayāmāsa dharmakāmārthamokṣadam

Translation

In Gaṅgādvāra sprach auch der ehrwürdige Parāśara—als Bhagavān verehrt—zu den erhabensten Munis und legte den Asketen jene Lehre dar, die Dharma, Kāma, Artha und Mokṣa verleiht.

Word by Word

• पराशरः: Parāśara
• पराशरः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पराशर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपेक्षार्थक (particle: ‘also/even’)

• भगवान्: venerable
• भगवान्: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; epithet of पराशरः

• गङ्गा-द्वारे: at the gate/ford of the Ganges
• गङ्गा-द्वारे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + द्वार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘gaṅgāyāḥ dvāre’)

• मुनीश्वराः: lords among sages
• मुनीश्वराः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘munīnām īśvarāḥ’)

• मुनिभ्यः: to the sages
• मुनिभ्यः: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th case), बहुवचन; dative ‘to the sages’

• कथयामास: told/related
• कथयामास: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Periphrastic perfect/परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative sense ‘caused to be told/told’ (कथयति)

• धर्म-काम-अर्थ-मोक्ष-दम्: that which grants dharma, desire, wealth, and liberation
• धर्म-काम-अर्थ-मोक्ष-दम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + काम (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक; from √दा ‘giver’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (‘dharma-kāma-artha-mokṣān dadāti iti’) qualifies (understood) ‘śāstram/ākhyānam’

Speaker

Suta (narrator) describing Parashara’s instruction to the sages at Gangadvara

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Parashara
• Gangadvara (Haridwar)
• Sages (Munis)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

Indirectly: by presenting a teaching that culminates in mokṣa, the verse points to liberation as the highest puruṣārtha—classically attained through right knowledge and realization of the Self beyond mere ritual and enjoyment.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

This verse is a narrative setup rather than a technical yoga instruction; it frames Parāśara’s forthcoming teaching as mokṣa-giving, which in the Kurma Purana’s spiritual idiom typically includes disciplined dharma, purification, and contemplative knowledge aligned with yoga-shastra aims.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

Not explicitly; however, by emphasizing a mokṣa-oriented teaching within a major Purana known for Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, it supports the text’s broader non-sectarian stance where liberation is approached through integrated dharma and devotion/knowledge rather than rivalry between deities.