Shloka 62

प्रह्लादचरितम् (हिरण्यकशिपोः स्वर्गापहरणं, प्रह्लादस्य विष्णुभक्तिः, उपदेशः)

Devanagari script

क्व शरीरम् अशेषाणां श्लेष्मादीनां महाचयः क्व चाङ्गशोभासौरभ्यकमनीयादयो गुणाः

Transliteration

kva śarīram aśeṣāṇāṃ śleṣmādīnāṃ mahācayaḥ kva cāṅgaśobhāsaurabhyakamanīyādayo guṇāḥ

Translation

What is this body, after all, but a vast heap of phlegm and the rest—an endless accumulation of impure substances? And where, in truth, are those qualities people imagine in it—radiance of limb, pleasing fragrance, beauty, and the like?

Word by Word

• क्व: where? (how can there be?)
• क्व: सम्बन्ध (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्न/विभेदार्थक-क्रियाविशेषण (interrogative/contrast adverb: where?)

• शरीरम्: the body
• शरीरम्: कर्ता (Subject/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (topic/subject)

• अशेषाणाम्: of all, entire
• अशेषाणाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘श्लेष्मादीनाम्’)

• श्लेष्म-आदीनाम्: of phlegm and the like
• श्लेष्म-आदीनाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्लेष्म (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः—श्लेष्मः आदिः येषाम् (of phlegm etc.)

• महाचयः: a great heap/accumulation
• महाचयः: कर्ता (Predicate-noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाचय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• क्व: where?
• क्व: सम्बन्ध (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विभेदार्थक-प्रश्न (where?)

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction: and)

• अङ्ग-शोभा-सौरभ्य-कमनीय-आदयः: beauty of limbs, fragrance, charm, etc.
• अङ्ग-शोभा-सौरभ्य-कमनीय-आदयः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + शोभा (प्रातिपदिक) + सौरभ्य (प्रातिपदिक) + कमनीय (कृदन्त/विशेषण) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समासः (समाहार/इतरेतर) द्वन्द्वः—अङ्गशोभा च सौरभ्यं च कमनीयम् च इत्यादयः

• गुणाः: qualities
• गुणाः: कर्ता (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Disenchantment from the body by analyzing its impure constituents versus imagined beauty

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The body is essentially an aggregate of impure substances, while its ‘beauty’ is a mental projection that collapses under scrutiny.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Practice contemplations that reduce vanity and attachment (e.g., mindful reflection on impermanence) and redirect attention to character and devotion.

Vishishtadvaita: The body is a dependent mode (śarīra) and not the self; true worth lies in the self’s relation of service to the Supreme, not in sensory glamour.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of describing the body as a heap of phlegm and other substances in the Vishnu Purana?

It is a deliberate disillusionment strategy: by revealing the body’s material composition, the text weakens attachment to outward beauty and redirects attention to lasting spiritual aims and devotion.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the illusion of bodily attractiveness in this verse?

He contrasts the body’s true physical basis (impure accumulations) with socially projected qualities like fragrance and charm, implying that “beauty” is largely imagined and therefore unreliable as an object of desire.

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

By diminishing fixation on transient form, the teaching implicitly points the seeker toward Vishnu as the stable, supreme ground of reality—worthy of devotion beyond the perishable body and its fleeting allure.