Shloka 23

विषप्रयोगः कृत्योत्पादनं च (प्रह्लादस्य अवध्यता, कृत्याविनाशः, पुरोहितानां रक्षणम्)

Devanagari script

तत्तत्त्ववेदिनो भूत्वा ज्ञानध्यानसमाधिभिः अवापुर् मुक्तिम् अपरे पुरुषा ध्वस्तबन्धनाः

Transliteration

tattattvavedino bhūtvā jñānadhyānasamādhibhiḥ avāpur muktim apare puruṣā dhvastabandhanāḥ

Translation

Becoming knowers of Reality as it truly is, some—through knowledge, meditation, and the stillness of samādhi—attained liberation, their bonds utterly destroyed.

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणरूपेण (as qualifier in compound sense)

• तत्त्ववेदिनः: knowers of reality
• तत्त्ववेदिनः: Karta/Subject (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक) + वेदिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तत्त्वं वेदन्ति) = ‘knowers of truth’

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु) → भूत्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive)

• ज्ञानध्यानसमाधिभिः: by knowledge, meditation, and samādhi
• ज्ञानध्यानसमाधिभिः: Karana/Means (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक) + ध्यान (प्रातिपदिक) + समाधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (knowledge, meditation, and samādhi)

• अवापुः: they attained
• अवापुः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव+आप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• मुक्तिम्: liberation
• मुक्तिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अपरे: others
• अपरे: Karta (appositive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेष्य-निर्देशक (others)

• पुरुषाः: men; persons
• पुरुषाः: Karta/Subject (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ध्वस्तबन्धनाः: with bonds destroyed; freed from bondage
• ध्वस्तबन्धनाः: Visheshana of पुरुषाः (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्वस्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; ध्वंस्/ध्वस्) + बन्धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः = ‘destroyed bonds’ (whose bonds are destroyed)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: By true knowledge of reality, supported by meditation and samādhi, the bonds of saṃsāra are destroyed and liberation is attained.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Combine study (tattva-vicāra) with daily meditation; reduce distractions and cultivate steady contemplation to loosen compulsive identifications.

Vishishtadvaita: Liberation is bondage-destruction (dhvasta-bandhana) culminating in the soul’s freedom for God-oriented existence; knowledge and meditation are efficacious when aligned with the Supreme Person as the ultimate reality.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of jñāna, dhyāna, and samādhi in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents them as a coordinated path: right knowledge matures through meditation and culminates in samādhi, by which bondage is destroyed and liberation is attained.

How does Sage Parāśara explain liberation in this context?

Parāśara frames moksha as the end of bondage (bandhana-nāśa) achieved by becoming a knower of true Reality and stabilizing that realization through yogic absorption.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Even when the verse speaks in yogic terms, the Vishnu Purana’s moksha-teaching ultimately points to realizing the Supreme Reality—identified throughout the text with Vishnu—as the ground of true knowledge and freedom.