Shloka 57

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

Devanagari script

ब्रह्म प्रभुर् ब्रह्म स सर्वभूतो ब्रह्म प्रजानां पतिर् अच्युतो ऽसौ ब्रह्माव्ययं नित्यम् अजं स विष्णुर् अपक्षयाद्यैर् अखिलैर् असङ्गि

Transliteration

brahma prabhur brahma sa sarvabhūto brahma prajānāṃ patir acyuto 'sau brahmāvyayaṃ nityam ajaṃ sa viṣṇur apakṣayādyair akhilair asaṅgi

Translation

Brahman is the Lord; Brahman is He who has become all beings. Brahman is the ruler of creatures—He, the unfailing Acyuta. That Vishnu is the imperishable, eternal, unborn Brahman, untouched by decay and loss and every such condition—ever unattached.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्म: Brahman; the Absolute
• ब्रह्म: Predicate/Complement (विशेष्य-पूर्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रभुः: lord
• प्रभुः: Predicate/Complement (विशेष्य-पूर्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ब्रह्म: Brahman
• ब्रह्म: Predicate/Complement (विशेष्य-पूर्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• सर्वभूतः: the one who is all beings; all-pervading
• सर्वभूतः: Predicate/Complement (विशेष्य-पूर्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + भूत (प्रातिपदिक; components: सर्व + भूत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (यस्य सर्वाणि भूतानि/सर्वभूतस्वरूपः)

• ब्रह्म: Brahman
• ब्रह्म: Predicate/Complement (विशेष्य-पूर्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रजानाम्: of creatures; of beings
• प्रजानाम्: Genitive relation (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• पतिः: lord; master
• पतिः: Predicate/Complement (विशेष्य-पूर्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अच्युतः: Acyuta (the infallible)
• अच्युतः: Predicate/Complement (विशेष्य-पूर्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अच्युत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• असौ: that one (he)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (दूरवाचक सर्वनाम)

• ब्रह्म: Brahman
• ब्रह्म: Predicate/Complement (विशेष्य-पूर्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अव्ययम्: imperishable
• अव्ययम्: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying 'ब्रह्म')

• नित्यम्: eternal
• नित्यम्: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• अजम्: unborn
• अजम्: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

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

• विष्णुः: Vishnu
• विष्णुः: Predicate/Complement (विशेष्य-पूर्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अपक्षयाद्यैः: by (qualities) such as non-decay, etc.
• अपक्षयाद्यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + पक्षय + आदि (प्रातिपदिक; components: अपक्षय + आदि)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; 'आदि' समासान्त (and the like); विशेषण (qualifying 'अखिलैः')

• अखिलैः: by all; entirely
• अखिलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अखिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• असङ्गि: unattached; non-associated
• असङ्गि: Predicate/Complement (विशेष्य-पूर्ति)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असङ्गिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; इन्-प्रत्ययान्त; विशेषण (of Viṣṇu)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya in a theological-hymnic passage)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Identity of Vishnu with Brahman and his transcendence of limiting conditions

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Vishnu, the unfailing Acyuta, is Brahman itself—lord of all beings—eternal, unborn, imperishable, and untouched by decay or diminution.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Meditate on the Lord’s changelessness amidst change to cultivate detachment and steadiness when the body and world undergo loss.

Vishishtadvaita: Identifies Brahman with a personal Lord (Acyuta/Viṣṇu) who possesses sovereignty and yet remains asaṅga—supporting qualified non-dualism rather than impersonal abstraction.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Brahman
• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of identifying Vishnu with Brahman in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse equates Vishnu (Acyuta) with imperishable, unborn, eternal Brahman, presenting Him as the ultimate reality who pervades all beings yet remains supreme and unchanged.

How does Sage Parāśara explain Vishnu’s relation to the world here?

Parāśara states that Vishnu is Brahman as the Lord and also as all beings (immanence), while simultaneously being asaṅgī—unattached and beyond decay and diminution (transcendence).

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Vishnu is affirmed as the sovereign ruler of all creatures and the unfailing Absolute, grounding Vaishnava theology in a Supreme Reality that sustains the cosmos without being conditioned by it.