Shloka 5

ध्रुवस्य तपः — देवमायाविघ्नाः, विष्णोर्दर्शनम्, स्तुतिः, ध्रुवस्थानप्रदानम्

Devanagari script

यत्र वै देवदेवस्य सांनिध्यं हरिमेधसः सर्वपापहरे तस्मिंस् तपस् तीर्थे चकार सः

Transliteration

yatra vai devadevasya sāṃnidhyaṃ harimedhasaḥ sarvapāpahare tasmiṃs tapas tīrthe cakāra saḥ

Translation

There—where the presence of Hari, the God of gods, is truly near—at that sacred ford of austerity that removes every sin, he performed tapas.

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-सम्बन्ध-अव्यय (relative locative adverb)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphasis)

• देवदेवस्य: of the god of gods
• देवदेवस्य: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव + देव (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Genitive singular masculine)

• सांनिध्यम्: presence, proximity
• सांनिध्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सांनिध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Nominative/Accusative singular neuter; here as ‘presence’)

• हरिमेधसः: of Harimedhas (proper name/epithet)
• हरिमेधसः: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि + मेधस् (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Genitive singular masculine); ‘हरि-मेधस्’ = ‘whose wisdom is of Hari/whose intellect is devoted to Hari’

• सर्वपापहरे: in the remover of all sins
• सर्वपापहरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + पाप + हर (प्रातिपदिकौ/धात्वर्थ-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular neuter); विशेषणम् (to tīrthe)

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular neuter)

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Accusative singular neuter)

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford/place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular neuter)

• चकार: performed, did
• चकार: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Nominative singular masculine)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Why the tīrtha at Madhurā/Yamunā is sin-destroying due to Hari’s sāṃnidhya

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: reverent

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Contact with a tīrtha sanctified by Hari’s presence supports purification and steadies one for tapas and devotion.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Choose practices and places that intensify remembrance of the Lord—regular pilgrimage, sādhana, and moral purification.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s grace operates through real sacred loci in the world; the place is holy because He is truly present, not merely symbolically.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu (Hari)
• Devadeva (Lord of gods)
• Tirtha (sacred ford/place of pilgrimage)

FAQs

What is the significance of a tīrtha where Hari’s presence is near in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames a tīrtha as powerful not merely by location but by Hari’s sannidhya—divine presence—through which the place becomes “sarva-pāpa-hara,” a remover of sins.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the role of tapas in this context?

Parāśara presents tapas as a purposeful spiritual act undertaken at a sanctified site, implying that disciplined austerity aligned with divine presence accelerates purification and dharmic fruition.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Vishnu is identified as Devadeva and Hari—the supreme, purifying reality whose proximity transforms a place into a conduit of grace and moral cleansing.