Shloka 89

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

Devanagari script

अथ पुत्रसहस्राणि वैरिण्यां पञ्च वीर्यवान् असिक्न्यां जनयाम् आस सर्गहेतोः प्रजापतिः

Transliteration

atha putrasahasrāṇi vairiṇyāṃ pañca vīryavān asiknyāṃ janayām āsa sargahetoḥ prajāpatiḥ

Translation

Thereafter Prajāpati, the very cause of creation, begot thousands of sons from Asiknī; and from Vairiṇī he brought forth five vigorous offspring as well.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (then/now)

• पुत्रसहस्राणि: a thousand sons
• पुत्रसहस्राणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन — Accusative plural; ‘सहस्रं पुत्राणाम्’

• वैरिण्याम्: in Vairiṇī
• वैरिण्याम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैरिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

• पञ्च: five
• पञ्च: Visheshana (Numeral qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पञ्च (अव्यय/संख्या)
• Form: अव्यय — संख्या (numeral), अव्ययवत् प्रयोग

• वीर्यवान्: powerful
• वीर्यवान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वीर्यवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular; विशेषण

• असिक्न्याम्: in Asiknī
• असिक्न्याम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असिक्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

• जनयाम्: to beget, to generate
• जनयाम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: णिच्-प्रत्यय (causative) धातु: जनय-, तुमुन्-लोपयुक्तं?; ‘जनयाम् आस’ इति परिप्रयोगे — कृदन्त/आमन्त (infinitive-like) with auxiliary

• आस: did/was (auxiliary)
• आस: Kriya (Auxiliary/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Perfect, 3rd sg.; सहायकक्रिया (periphrastic construction)

• सर्गहेतोः: of the cause of creation
• सर्गहेतोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्ग + हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Genitive singular; ‘cause of creation’

• प्रजापतिः: Prajāpati
• प्रजापतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन — Nominative singular

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Progeny of Dakṣa from his consorts and the expansion of creation

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Characters & Entities

• Prajāpati
• Vairiṇī
• Asiknī

FAQs

What is the significance of Prajāpati generating offspring in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse marks the mechanism of Sarga: creation unfolds through Prajāpatis who generate lineages, populating the cosmos in an ordered, lawful expansion.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the process of creation (Sarga) here?

Parāśara presents creation as genealogical proliferation—Prajāpati, through his consorts, produces vast progeny, showing how manifestation proceeds step-by-step through lineage.

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

Even when Prajāpati appears as the immediate creator, the Purāṇic framework treats such creators as operating under Vishnu’s supreme governance—the sustaining reality behind cosmic order and its cycles.