Shloka 11

प्रह्लादस्य अव्यभिचारिणी भक्ति, मायाविनाशः, तथा विष्णोः विश्वरूप-स्तुतिः

Devanagari script

दुरात्मा क्षिप्यताम् अस्मात् प्रासादाच् छतयोजनात् गिरिपृष्ठे पतत्व् अस्मिञ् शिलाभिन्नाङ्गसंहतिः

Transliteration

durātmā kṣipyatām asmāt prāsādāc chatayojanāt giripṛṣṭhe patatv asmiñ śilābhinnāṅgasaṃhatiḥ

Translation

“Cast this wicked-souled wretch down from this palace—lofty as a hundred yojanas. Let him fall upon the mountain’s back here, and let the very frame of his body be shattered upon the rocks.”

Word by Word

• दुरात्मा: the wicked one/evil-souled (person)
• दुरात्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर् + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: (दुष्टः आत्मा)

• क्षिप्यताम्: let (him) be thrown
• क्षिप्यताम्: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): 'let him be thrown'

• अस्मात्: from this
• अस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम्/अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम

• प्रासादात्: from the palace
• प्रासादात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रासाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• शतयोजनात्: from (a height of) a hundred yojanas
• शतयोजनात्: Apadana (Source/Measure/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत + योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; द्विगु: (शतं योजनानि यस्य/शतयोजनम्)

• गिरिपृष्ठे: on the mountain-back/slope
• गिरिपृष्ठे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि + पृष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; (गिरेः पृष्ठम्) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• पततु: let (him) fall
• पततु: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अस्मिन्: on/in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम

• शिलाभिन्नाङ्गसंहतिः: one whose bodily frame is shattered by rocks
• शिलाभिन्नाङ्गसंहतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिला + भिन्न + अङ्ग + संहति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: (शिलया भिन्ना अङ्गसंहतिः यस्य)

Speaker

A king or royal authority issuing an order (as narrated by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Nature of true devotion and its fruits—how seeing Hari in all beings transforms conduct and suffering.

Teaching: Historical

Quality: revealing

Prahlada Narrative

Phase: Persecution

Bhakti Quality: Unshaken steadfastness under threat—śraddhā that the Lord protects.

Persecution: Cliff

Narasimha: The persecution escalates toward lethal violence; divine intervention will soon be necessitated, culminating in Narasiṃha’s appearance.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• A king (unnamed in this verse)
• The condemned wicked person (durātmā)

FAQs

What is the significance of royal punishment in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames kingship as a dharmic office where the ruler enforces moral order (danda) against adharma, making sovereignty a practical mechanism for maintaining societal balance.

How does Sage Parashara present the role of a king in such episodes?

Through narrative commands like this, Parāśara depicts the king as an agent of order whose decisions shape the ethical and karmic texture of the dynasty being described.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s dynastic histories assume a Vishnu-governed cosmos where dharma and its enforcement ultimately serve the preservation of universal order under the Supreme Reality.