Shloka 63

प्रह्लादचरितम् (हिरण्यकशिपोः स्वर्गापहरणं, प्रह्लादस्य विष्णुभक्तिः, उपदेशः)

Devanagari script

मांसासृक्पूयविण्मूत्रस्नायुमज्जास्थिसंहतौ देहे चेत् प्रीतिमान् मूढो भविता नरके ऽपि सः

Transliteration

māṃsāsṛkpūyaviṇmūtrasnāyumajjāsthisaṃhatau dehe cet prītimān mūḍho bhavitā narake 'pi saḥ

Translation

If a deluded man takes delight in the body—this mere compact of flesh, blood, pus, feces, urine, sinews, marrow, and bones—then even in hell he will remain the same, bound by folly and attachment.

Word by Word

• मांस-असृक्-पूय-विण्-मूत्र-स्नायु-मज्जा-अस्थि-संहतौ: in the mass of flesh, blood, pus, feces, urine, sinews, marrow, bones
• मांस-असृक्-पूय-विण्-मूत्र-स्नायु-मज्जा-अस्थि-संहतौ: अधिकरण (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस (प्रातिपदिक) + असृज्/असृक् (प्रातिपदिक) + पूय (प्रातिपदिक) + विण् (प्रातिपदिक) + मूत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नायु (प्रातिपदिक) + मज्जा (प्रातिपदिक) + अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक) + संहति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः (बहुपद) तत्पुरुषः—मांसादीनां संहति: (in the conglomeration of flesh, blood, pus, feces, urine, sinews, marrow, bones)

• देहे: in the body
• देहे: अधिकरण (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• चेत्: if
• चेत्: सम्बन्ध (Condition marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तार्थक-निपात (conditional particle: if)

• प्रीतिमान्: affectionate, pleased
• प्रीतिमान्: कर्ता-विशेषण (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रीति (प्रातिपदिक) + मतुप् (प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘मूढः/सः’)

• मूढः: a deluded person
• मूढः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूढ (कृदन्त; √मुह्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेष्यरूपेण (as substantive: the deluded one)

• भविता: will be/become
• भविता: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/लृट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘भविष्यति’ (will become)

• नरके: in hell
• नरके: अधिकरण (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: सम्बन्ध (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधानार्थक-निपात (even)

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

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Folly of attachment to the body and the continuity of delusion even in naraka

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Delight in the body—merely a bundle of impure constituents—perpetuates ignorance, so that even suffering states do not correct one’s attachment.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Reduce identification with the body through self-inquiry and disciplined living; cultivate devotion and remembrance to reorient identity.

Vishishtadvaita: Liberation requires correct self-knowledge (jīva distinct from body) and turning to the Lord; mere change of circumstance (even punishment) does not remove avidyā without devotion and insight.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Naraka (hell)

FAQs

What is the significance of contemplating the body’s impurity in the Vishnu Purana?

It is a practical method for cultivating vairagya (dispassion): by seeing the body as a perishable aggregate, one weakens craving and turns the mind toward liberation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain attachment and its consequences here?

He frames bodily attachment as delusion (moha): one who delights in the body’s gross constituents remains bound to ignorance, and suffering follows—even in lower states like Naraka.

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

By exposing the body’s unreliability, the text indirectly points the seeker toward the imperishable refuge—Vishnu as the supreme reality—rather than transient material identification.