Shloka 15

आत्यन्तिक-लयहेतुः: तापत्रय-विवेचनम् तथा ‘भगवान्/वासुदेव’ शब्दार्थः

Threefold Suffering and the Path to Final Liberation; Meaning of Bhagavān and Vāsudeva

Devanagari script

अधोमुखो वै क्रियते प्रबलैः सूतिमारुतैः क्लेशैर् निष्क्रान्तिम् आप्नोति जठरान् मातुर् आतुरः

Transliteration

adhomukho vai kriyate prabalaiḥ sūtimārutaiḥ kleśair niṣkrāntim āpnoti jaṭharān mātur āturaḥ

Translation

Von den mächtigen Winden der Geburt getrieben, wird er mit dem Gesicht nach unten gewendet; von Leiden bedrängt, in Not, erlangt er den Ausweg aus dem Mutterleib.

Word by Word

अधःdownwards

मुखःface (downward-faced)

वैindeed

क्रियतेis made, is done

प्रबलैःby strong

सूतिdelivery, childbirth

मारुतैःby winds (birth-winds)

क्लेशैःby pains, torments

निष्क्रान्तिम्exit, coming out

आप्नोतिattains, reaches

जठरात्from the belly/womb

मातुःof the mother

आतुरःdistressed, afflicted

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in dialogue with Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Mother (mātuḥ)

Embodied being (jīva)

FAQs

What is the significance of describing birth-winds (sūti-māruta) in the Vishnu Purana?

It grounds the doctrine of saṃsāra in a concrete, bodily reality—showing that entry into embodied life is compelled by forces and accompanied by suffering, underscoring the need for liberation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the jīva’s condition at the moment of birth?

He presents the jīva as distressed and driven outward by powerful forces, emphasizing helplessness under karmic momentum and the unavoidable transition into worldly experience.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the process is implied to occur under the Lord’s sovereign cosmic law—birth, suffering, and order functioning within the divinely governed structure of saṃsāra.