Shloka 42

प्रचेतसां तपः तथा विष्णु-स्तुतिः

The Pracetases’ Ocean Tapas and Hymn to Vishnu

Devanagari script

अरजो ऽशब्दम् अमृतम् अप्लुतं यद् असंवृतम् पूर्वापरे न वै यस्मिंस् तद् विष्णोः परमं पदम्

Transliteration

arajo 'śabdam amṛtam aplutaṃ yad asaṃvṛtam pūrvāpare na vai yasmiṃs tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padam

Translation

That supreme station of Viṣṇu is the Reality that is dustless and stainless, beyond sound, deathless, unmoistened and untouched, and never veiled. In it there is no ‘before’ or ‘after’—for there, time’s divisions do not obtain.

Word by Word

• arajaḥ: dustless, without impurity
• arajaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-rajas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक विशेषण; विसर्गान्त रूप (arajaḥ)

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

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

• aplutaṃ: unsubmerged/unswum; not floating (unaffected by inundation)
• aplutaṃ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-pluta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक विशेषण

• yat: that which
• yat: Visheshya (Head/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• asaṃvṛtam: uncovered, unobstructed
• asaṃvṛtam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-saṃvṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक विशेषण

• pūrvāpare: the prior and the posterior (before/after)
• pūrvāpare: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva + apara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), द्विवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास (former and latter)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation particle)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/निश्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/खल्वर्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• yasmin: in which
• yasmin: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (locative relative)

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Correlative determiner/निर्देशक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; निर्देशार्थक सर्वनाम (correlative)

• viṣṇoḥ: of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• paramaṃ: supreme
• paramaṃ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण

• padam: abode/state/footstep
• padam: Visheshya (Head/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Viṣṇu’s parama-pada as timeless and unconditioned

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Vishnu’s supreme abode is stainless, deathless, un-veiled, and beyond temporal sequence (no before/after).

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Orient devotion toward the timeless goal (parama-pada) through daily remembrance and detachment from time-bound anxieties.

Vishishtadvaita: Identifies a real, positive ‘supreme abode’ of Vishnu (not mere negation), aligning with Vishishtadvaita’s eternal Vaikuntha as the liberated state’s locus.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of Vishnu’s “paramaṃ padam” in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse it denotes Vishnu’s supreme abode/state—pure, deathless, and not subject to time—presented as the ultimate goal (moksha) beyond worldly limitation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain transcendence beyond time in this context?

Parāśara describes the highest reality as a domain where ‘before’ and ‘after’ do not exist, indicating that temporal succession and change cannot apply to Vishnu’s supreme station.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Vishnu is affirmed as the Supreme Reality—unveiled, immortal, and untouched by material conditions—supporting a Vaishnava metaphysics where liberation culminates in relation to Vishnu’s highest abode.