Shloka 39

प्रचेतसां तपः तथा विष्णु-स्तुतिः

The Pracetases’ Ocean Tapas and Hymn to Vishnu

Devanagari script

अदीर्घह्रस्वम् अस्थूलम् अनण्व् अग्र्यम् अलोहितम् अस्नेहच्छायम् अतनुम् असक्तम् असमीरणम्

Transliteration

adīrghahrasvam asthūlam anaṇv agryam alohitam asnehacchāyam atanum asaktam asamīraṇam

Translation

He is neither long nor short; neither gross nor minute; without any foremost limit or measurable extremity; without color. He casts no shadow born of material contact; is not tenuous as a formed thing; is unattached to all; and untouched by the movements of air—beyond all physical conditions.

Word by Word

• अदीर्घह्रस्वम्: neither long nor short
• अदीर्घह्रस्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-दीर्घ-ह्रस्व (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + दीर्घ + ह्रस्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक द्वन्द्वः (दीर्घश्च ह्रस्वश्च—तयोः अभावः) विशेषणम्

• अस्थूलम्: not gross
• अस्थूलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-स्थूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-समासभावः

• अनणु: not minute, not atomic
• अनणु: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-णणु/अ-णु (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + अणु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-समासभावः; पाठे 'अनण्व्' इति व्यञ्जनान्त-रूपं सन्ध्यर्थम्

• अग्र्यम्: foremost, excellent
• अग्र्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अग्र्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अलोहितम्: not red, colorless (non-bloody)
• अलोहितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-लोहित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-समासभावः

• अस्नेहच्छायम्: without oily sheen/shadow (without luster)
• अस्नेहच्छायम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-स्नेह-छाया (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + स्नेह + छाया)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक तत्पुरुषः (स्नेहस्य छाया—तस्य अभावः)

• अतनुम्: not thin / not having a body (incorporeal)
• अतनुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-तनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-समासभावः

• असक्तम्: unattached
• असक्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-सक्त (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + सक्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-समासभावः

• असमीरणम्: without movement/wind; unmoving
• असमीरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-समीरन (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + समीरण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-समासभावः

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Apophatic description (neti-neti style) of the Supreme beyond spatial measure and physical properties

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Supreme is beyond all physical predicates—size, mass, minuteness, color, shadow, contact, attachment, and motion—hence not an object among objects.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: In meditation, negate limiting images and rest awareness in the non-objectifiable ground; let this reduce attachment to bodily and sensory identifications.

Vishishtadvaita: Negations deny material limitation (prakṛta-dharmas) while leaving room for the Lord’s supramundane auspicious nature affirmed elsewhere in the Purāṇa.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of describing Vishnu as neither long nor short in the Vishnu Purana?

It denies spatial measurement and bodily limitation, asserting Vishnu as the unconditioned Supreme Reality beyond form and dimension.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of the formless Absolute here?

By a chain of negations—gross/subtle, color, shadow, attachment, and motion—he indicates that the Supreme is not an object within nature but the ground of nature.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Vishnu is presented as Para Brahman: transcendent, untouched by material qualities, yet the ultimate sovereign principle underlying creation and cosmic order.