Shloka 55

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

Devanagari script

पारं परं विष्णुर् अपारपारः परः परेभ्यः परमार्थरूपी स ब्रह्मपारः परपारभूतः परः पराणाम् अपि पारपारः

Transliteration

pāraṃ paraṃ viṣṇur apārapāraḥ paraḥ parebhyaḥ paramārtharūpī sa brahmapāraḥ parapārabhūtaḥ paraḥ parāṇām api pārapāraḥ

Translation

Vishnu is the further shore—the supreme beyond; the One whose farthest limit is itself beyond limit. Higher than all that is called “higher,” He is the very form of ultimate reality. He is the far shore of Brahman, the Reality that stands beyond the beyond—supreme even among the supremely transcendent, the final ‘shore’ of all shores.

Word by Word

• पारम्: the far shore; the limit
• पारम्: Karma/Upapada (Object-like complement/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• परम्: supreme; highest
• परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘पारम्’ विशेषयति

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अपारपारः: whose ‘shore’ is unbounded; limitless
• अपारपारः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपार (प्रातिपदिक) + पार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयः (विरोध-विशेषण) ‘अपारं पारं यस्य/यः’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• परः: supreme; transcendent
• परः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• परेभ्यः: than the others; from the higher ones
• परेभ्यः: Apadana (Standard of comparison/source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), बहुवचन

• परमार्थरूपी: having the form of the highest truth
• परमार्थरूपी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः ‘परम-अर्थ’ + रूपिन् (having the form of); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मपारः: the ‘Brahma-pāra’ (the farthest limit of Brahman)
• ब्रह्मपारः: Pradhana (Predicate nominal/मुख्यपद)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म (प्रातिपदिक) + पार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (सम्बन्ध) ‘ब्रह्मणः पारः’ (the farthest limit of Brahman / beyond Brahman); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• परपारभूतः: become the further shore of the supreme
• परपारभूतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + पार (प्रातिपदिक) + भू (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः ‘पर-पार’ + क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (भूतः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• परः: supreme
• परः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पराणाम्: of the supreme ones; of the higher beings
• पराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• अपि: even; also
• अपि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधानार्थक (particle: even/also)

• पारपारः: the ultimate beyond the far shore; the farthest limit
• पारपारः: Pradhana (Predicate nominal/मुख्यपद)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पार (प्रातिपदिक) + पार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयः (यमक-प्रयोग) ‘पारं पारः’/‘पारस्य पारः’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parashara (teaching Maitreya in the Vishnu Purana’s opening discourse on the Supreme)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Recitation of Kaṇḍu’s supreme hymn describing Viṣṇu as the ultimate transcendence beyond all ‘beyond’

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Viṣṇu is the supreme ‘far shore’—the paramārtha itself—transcending all hierarchies of the ‘higher,’ even standing as the ‘shore of Brahman,’ i.e., the ultimate that grounds and surpasses all absolute conceptions.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Use this verse as a contemplative refrain: whenever the mind fixes on any ‘highest’ ideal, redirect it to the Supreme Person as the final horizon; let this cultivate humility, steadiness, and surrender.

Vishishtadvaita: The stotra identifies Brahman’s ultimate meaning with Viṣṇu (paramārtha-rūpī), aligning with Viśiṣṭādvaita: the Absolute is personal Nārāyaṇa, infinite yet knowable through praise and devotion, and the cause of all.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Brahman

FAQs

What is the significance of calling Vishnu the “farther shore” (pāram) in the Vishnu Purana?

It presents Vishnu as the final refuge and ultimate limit of realization—the end-point beyond which no higher principle remains.

How does Sage Parashara explain the concept of the Supreme in this passage?

By stacking superlatives (para, paratara) and “shore” metaphors, Parashara frames Vishnu as transcending all transcendent categories and as the very substance of ultimate truth (paramārtha).

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

The verse asserts Vishnu’s absolute supremacy: He is not merely a high deity within the cosmos, but the transcendent ground of Brahman-language itself and the ultimate sovereign reality.