Shloka 103

Pracetās, Māriṣā, Dakṣa’s Re-manifestation, and the Brahma-parastava; Cyclic Creation and Genealogies

Devanagari script

ददौ स दश धर्माय कश्यपाय त्रयोदश सप्तविंशति सोमाय चतस्रो ऽरिष्टनेमिने

Transliteration

dadau sa daśa dharmāya kaśyapāya trayodaśa saptaviṃśati somāya catasro 'riṣṭanemine

Translation

He bestowed ten (daughters) upon Dharma, thirteen upon Kaśyapa, twenty-seven upon Soma, and four upon Ariṣṭanemi.

Word by Word

• ददौ: gave
• ददौ: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सः: he (Dakṣa)
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom.), एकवचन

• दश: ten
• दश: Karma (Count of object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दशन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-बहुवचन-प्रमाणे) ‘कन्याः’ इत्यनुवृत्त्या संख्या

• धर्माय: to Dharma
• धर्माय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन

• कश्यपाय: to Kaśyapa
• कश्यपाय: Sampradana (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कश्यप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन

• त्रयोदश: thirteen
• त्रयोदश: Karma (Count of object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रयोदशन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्याशब्दः (13); ‘कन्याः’ इत्यनुवृत्त्या संख्या

• सप्तविंशति: twenty-seven
• सप्तविंशति: Karma (Count of object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्तविंशति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्याशब्दः (27); ‘कन्याः’ इत्यनुवृत्त्या संख्या

• सोमाय: to Soma (Moon)
• सोमाय: Sampradana (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन

• चतस्रः: four
• चतस्रः: Karma (Count of object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतस्ृ (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom.), बहुवचन; ‘कन्याः’ इत्यनुवृत्त्या संख्या

• अरिष्टनेमिने: to Ariṣṭanemi
• अरिष्टनेमिने: Sampradana (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरिष्टनेमि (प्रातिपदिक: अरिष्ट + नेमि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How Dakṣa’s daughters become channels for cosmic populations and time-order.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic order (dharma), living lineages, and the measurement of time (through Soma’s wives as nakṣatras) proceed through divinely structured relationships.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Honor time-discipline and ethical order as sacred structures; align daily life with rhythms (vrata, calendar, duty) rather than impulse.

Vishishtadvaita: Multiplicity (wives, lineages, time-divisions) is real and meaningful as the Lord’s ordered body (śarīra) under His sovereignty.

Dynasty & Genealogy

Dharma Exemplar: Dharma (as personified righteousness)

Key Kings: Dakṣa, Dharma, Kaśyapa, Soma, Ariṣṭanemi

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Kaśyapa
• Soma (Chandra)
• Ariṣṭanemi
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the significance of Soma receiving twenty-seven wives in the Vishnu Purana?

The twenty-seven refer to the Nakṣatras (lunar mansions), linking Soma (the Moon) to the measurement of time and ritual-calendar order—time itself functioning within Viṣṇu’s overarching cosmic rule.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the spread of creation through these marriages?

Parāśara presents creation as structured through sanctioned lineages: Dharma embodies order, Kaśyapa becomes a prolific progenitor of many classes of beings, and Soma governs cyclical time—together forming a coherent cosmic system.

What is the theological importance of Lord Viṣṇu in this genealogical context?

Even when the verse lists human-divine allocations, the Purāṇic frame treats these lineages as instruments of Viṣṇu’s supreme reality—His sovereignty sustaining both moral order (dharma) and cosmological continuity.