Shloka 41

प्रचेतसां तपः तथा विष्णु-स्तुतिः

The Pracetases’ Ocean Tapas and Hymn to Vishnu

Devanagari script

अनामगोत्रम् असुखम् अतेजस्कम् अहेतुकम् अभयं भ्रान्तिरहितम् अनिद्रम् अजरामरम्

Transliteration

anāmagotram asukham atejaskam ahetukam abhayaṃ bhrāntirahitam anidram ajarāmaram

Translation

He is without name or lineage, untouched by pleasure and pain; not limited by any material brilliance, and not produced by any cause. Fearless, free from delusion, never subject to sleep—He is without aging and without death.

Word by Word

• anāmagotram: without name and lineage
• anāmagotram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-nāma + gotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक द्वन्द्वसमास (name and lineage)

• asukham: without pleasure/pain (beyond happiness)
• asukham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक विशेषण

• atejaskam: without (material) brilliance/energy
• atejaskam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-tejas-ka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक विशेषण; -क प्रत्ययान्त (possessing/related)

• ahetukam: causeless
• ahetukam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-hetuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक विशेषण

• abhayam: fearless
• abhayam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक विशेषण

• bhrāntirahitam: free from delusion
• bhrāntirahitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhrānti + rahita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (bhrānteḥ rahitam = free from delusion)

• anidram: sleepless (without sleep)
• anidram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-nidra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक विशेषण

• ajarāmaram: without old age and death (ageless, deathless)
• ajarāmaram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-jarā + a-mara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक द्वन्द्वसमास (old age and death)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Attributes of the Supreme as unconditioned and deathless

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Supreme is uncaused, beyond social identifiers (name, lineage), untouched by dualities, free from delusion, and immortal.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Loosen identity-clinging (name, status, lineage) and cultivate fearlessness by contemplating the uncaused, deathless ground of being.

Vishishtadvaita: Supports Vishishtadvaita by denying material limitation and karmic causation for the Lord while allowing Him to be the conscious, sovereign reality.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of describing Vishnu as 'anāmagotra' (without name and lineage) in the Vishnu Purana?

It asserts Vishnu’s transcendence over social or biological identity: the Supreme is not a conditioned individual within creation, but the source and support of all identities.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of 'ahetuka' (causeless) here?

Parāśara presents the Supreme as uncaused—unlike created beings that arise from prior causes—thereby marking Vishnu as the ultimate ground from which causality itself proceeds.

What is the theological importance of calling Vishnu 'ajara-amara' (unaging and deathless) in this context?

It frames Vishnu as the eternal sovereign reality: while worlds and beings move through cycles of change, decay, and dissolution, the Lord remains unchanged and thus worthy of ultimate refuge.