Shloka 146

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

Devanagari script

न भिन्नं विविधैः शस्त्रैर् यस्य दैत्येन्द्रपातितैः शरीरम् अद्रिकठिनं सर्वत्राच्युतचेतसः

Transliteration

na bhinnaṃ vividhaiḥ śastrair yasya daityendrapātitaiḥ śarīram adrikaṭhinaṃ sarvatrācyutacetasaḥ

Translation

Though struck by the demon-lord with weapons of every kind, his body was not pierced—hard as rock—because his mind, everywhere and always, was fixed upon Acyuta.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• भिन्नम्: broken/pierced
• भिन्नम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिद् (धातु) + भिन्न (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘not broken’; कृदन्त (भिद् धातोः क्त)

• विविधैः: by various
• विविधैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन — ‘by various’

• शस्त्रैः: weapons
• शस्त्रैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• दैत्येन्द्रपातितैः: hurled by the Daitya-king
• दैत्येन्द्रपातितैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दैत्येन्द्र + पातित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन — ‘दैत्येन्द्रेण पातितैः’ (hurled by the Daitya-king); कृदन्त (पत्/पातय् धातोः क्त)

• शरीरम्: body
• शरीरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• अद्रिकठिनम्: hard as a mountain
• अद्रिकठिनम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अद्रि + कठिन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — ‘अद्रिवत् कठिनम्’ (hard like a mountain)

• सर्वत्र: always/everywhere
• सर्वत्र: Desha-adhikarana (Locative sense/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• अच्युतचेतसः: of him whose mind was fixed on Acyuta
• अच्युतचेतसः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अच्युत + चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — ‘अच्युते चेतः यस्य’ (whose mind is in Acyuta); बहुव्रीह्यर्थे षष्ठी-सम्बन्धेन प्रयोगः

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: A mind fixed on Acyuta becomes unpierceable by the world’s assaults—devotion confers a higher resilience than physical strength.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Practice single-pointed remembrance (ekāgratā in nāma-smaraṇa) so that setbacks do not ‘pierce’ the heart—respond from steadiness rather than reactivity.

Vishishtadvaita: The devotee’s protection is relational: the Lord’s grace safeguards the embodied jīva while preserving the real distinction between protector (Īśvara) and protected (jīva).

Prahlada Narrative

Phase: Persecution

Bhakti Quality: Acyuta-citta: unwavering, all-pervasive remembrance of the Imperishable Lord.

Persecution: Weapons

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu (Acyuta)
• Daityendra (demon-lord)

FAQs

What is the significance of being 'Acyuta-cetasaḥ' in the Vishnu Purana?

It signifies unwavering, all-pervasive remembrance of Vishnu; the verse presents such single-pointed devotion as the source of extraordinary protection and inner invulnerability.

How does Sage Parāśara explain divine protection in conflict narratives?

By showing that when consciousness is anchored in Vishnu (Acyuta), external assaults lose their power; the devotee’s steadiness becomes the decisive factor, not the attacker’s weapons.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Vishnu is implied as the supreme refuge whose presence in the devotee’s mind overrides material causality—affirming his role as the sustaining, inviolable Reality behind all events.