Shloka 2

Adhyaya 42 — Dattatreya on the Yogic Import of Oṃ (Praṇava): Matras, Worlds, and Liberation

Sanskrit

दृष्ट्वा च परमात्मानं प्रत्यक्षं विश्वरूपिणम् ।

विश्वपादशिरोग्रीवं विश्वेशं विश्वभावनम् ॥

Transliteration

dṛṣṭvā ca paramātmānaṁ pratyakṣaṁ viśvarūpiṇam / viśvapādaśirogrīvaṁ viśveśaṁ viśvabhāvanam

Translation

And having beheld the Supreme Self directly, in the form of the universe—whose feet, head, and neck are the universe—who is the Lord of the universe and the source of the universe’s becoming.

Word by Word

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (absolutive/क्त्वान्त), ‘having seen’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction (समुच्चय)

• परमात्मानम्: the Supreme Self
• परमात्मानम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (परमः आत्मा)

• प्रत्यक्षम्: directly manifest, before one’s eyes
• प्रत्यक्षम्: Visheshana of Karma (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रत्यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjectival to परमात्मानम्

• विश्वरूपिणम्: of universal form
• विश्वरूपिणम्: Visheshana of Karma (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विश्व + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (विश्वं रूपं यस्य = having the form of the universe)

• विश्वपादशिरोग्रीवम्: whose feet, head and neck are the universe
• विश्वपादशिरोग्रीवम्: Visheshana of Karma (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विश्व + पाद + शिरस् + ग्रीव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (विश्वं पाद-शिरो-ग्रीवं यस्य = whose feet/head/neck are the universe)

• विश्वेशम्: Lord of the universe
• विश्वेशम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (विश्वस्य ईशः = lord of the universe)

• विश्वभावनम्: creator/sustainer of the universe
• विश्वभावनम्: Visheshana of Karma (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विश्व + भावन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (विश्वस्य भावनः/भावनम् = creator/sustainer of the universe)

Speakers

• Dattātreya (continuing instruction)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Paramātman (Brahman/Īśvara)

Key Themes

• Viśvarūpa
• Direct realization (pratyakṣa)
• Brahman/Īśvara contemplation
• Yoga

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The goal is not abstract belief but direct seeing (pratyakṣa) of the Divine as all-pervasive reality; ethically, this vision supports reverence toward all beings as expressions of the same ground.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

A contemplative/theological teaching rather than pancalakṣaṇa content. It supplies the metaphysical object of meditation within the Purāṇic path to mokṣa.

What is the esoteric significance?

Viśvarūpa imagery collapses the inside/outside divide: the meditator’s body-world mapping is re-read as the body of Īśvara, enabling non-dual absorption where ‘world’ becomes a support rather than a distraction.