Shloka 103
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
कैवल्यं निर्गुणं विश्वमनादिमजमव्ययम् | पुरुष: स विभु: कर्ता सर्वभूतपितामह:,आत्मा, अव्यय, प्रकृति (उपादान), प्रभव (उत्पत्ति-कारण), प्रभु (अधिष्ठाता), पुरुष (अन्तर्यामी), विश्वकर्मा, सत्त्वगुणसे प्राप्त होने योग्य तथा प्रणवाक्षर भी वे ही हैं; उन्हींको अनन्त, अचल, देव, हंस, नारायण, प्रभु, धाता, अजन्मा, अव्यक्त, पर, अव्यय, कैवल्य, निर्मुण, विश्वरूप, अनादि, जन्मरहित और अविकारी कहा गया है। वे सर्वव्यापी, परम पुरुष परमात्मा, सबके कर्ता और सम्पूर्ण भूतोंके पितामह हैं
kaivalyaṁ nirguṇaṁ viśvam anādim ajam avyayam | puruṣaḥ sa vibhuḥ kartā sarvabhūtapitāmahaḥ ||
Dāśa said: “That Supreme Reality is absolute aloneness (kaivalya), beyond the guṇas, the all-encompassing universe itself—beginningless, unborn, and imperishable. He is the Puruṣa: all-pervading, sovereign, the doer and ordainer, the inner Self, and the great grandsire of all beings. He is also spoken of by many sacred names and epithets—such as the source and material basis of creation, the presiding Lord, the cosmic artisan, attainable through the quality of sattva, and even as the syllable Oṁ—thus indicating that the one Supreme is approached and praised through diverse descriptions.”
दाश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the unity and supremacy of the ultimate Reality: it is beyond the guṇas, unborn and imperishable, yet also the inner Self and sovereign cause of the cosmos. Multiple sacred names (Puruṣa, Nārāyaṇa, Praṇava, etc.) point to the same one Supreme, indicating that diverse theological descriptions converge on a single transcendent source.
The speaker Dāśa is delivering a doctrinal praise (stuti) describing the Supreme Being’s nature—transcendent (nirguṇa, beginningless) and immanent (all-pervading, inner controller), as well as creator and progenitor of all beings—using a cluster of traditional epithets to frame the teaching.