Shloka 31

Devanagari script

पञ्चधावस्थितो देहे यश् चेष्टां कुरुते ऽनिशम् आकाशयोनिर् भगवांस् तस्मै वाय्वात्मने नमः

Transliteration

pañcadhāvasthito dehe yaś ceṣṭāṃ kurute 'niśam ākāśayonir bhagavāṃs tasmai vāyvātmane namaḥ

Translation

Salutations to the blessed Lord whose essence is Vāyu—born of ākāśa, abiding fivefold within the body, and ceaselessly setting all living activity in motion.

Word by Word

• पञ्चधा: in fivefold manner
• पञ्चधा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पञ्चधा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक-प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (in five ways)

• अवस्थितः: situated; abiding
• अवस्थितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव + स्था (धातु) → अवस्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/स्थितिवाचक (past participle: 'situated')

• देहे: in the body
• देहे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम

• चेष्टाम्: activity; motion
• चेष्टाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चेष्टा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• कुरुते: does; performs
• कुरुते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• अनिशम्: unceasingly
• अनिशम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनिशम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'constantly')

• आकाशयोनिः: having space as source; space-born
• आकाशयोनिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश + योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (आकाशः योनिः यस्य/आकाश-उद्भवः)

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• भगवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• वाय्वात्मने: to him whose essence is wind
• वाय्वात्मने: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायु + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (वायुः आत्मा यस्य/वायु-स्वरूपः)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक; अव्ययीभूत-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; नमस्कारार्थक-निपात

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the Lord is immanent as prāṇa/vāyu, sustaining embodied life and activity

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord, as Vāyu/prāṇa, abides fivefold in the body and continuously animates all functions of living beings.

Vedantic Theme: Atman

Application: Use breath-awareness (prāṇānusandhāna) as a devotional practice, recognizing the sustaining prāṇa as the Lord’s indwelling governance.

Vishishtadvaita: Antaryāmitva is explicit: Viṣṇu is the inner controller as prāṇa within embodied selves, integrating transcendence with intimate immanence.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vayu
• Akasha

FAQs

What is the significance of the fivefold Vāyu in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse honors Vāyu as functioning in five modes within the body—explaining how life, motion, and vital processes are sustained continuously through prāṇic activity under divine order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the link between ākāśa and vāyu?

Parāśara presents vāyu as ‘ākāśa-yoni’—arising from ether—reflecting the Purāṇic sequence of subtle elements where one principle emerges from a prior, subtler cause.

What is the theological importance of this verse in a Vaishnava reading?

Even while naming Vāyu, the verse frames the life-wind as ‘bhagavān’ and worthy of reverence—supporting the Purāṇic view that cosmic and bodily functions operate through divine sovereignty ultimately grounded in the Supreme Reality.