Shloka 55

Devanagari script

ततस् ते सत्वरा दैत्या बद्ध्वा तं नागबन्धनैः भर्तुर् आज्ञां पुरस्कृत्य चिक्षिपुः सलिलार्णवे

Transliteration

tatas te satvarā daityā baddhvā taṃ nāgabandhanaiḥ bhartur ājñāṃ puraskṛtya cikṣipuḥ salilārṇave

Translation

Then those Daityas, moving swiftly, bound him with serpent-like fetters; and, placing their lord’s command foremost, they cast him into the ocean’s waters.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘then/thereupon’)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• सत्वराः: swift/hurried
• सत्वराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; ‘दैत्याः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• दैत्याः: Daityas
• दैत्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• बद्ध्वा: having bound
• बद्ध्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी; अर्थः—having bound

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• नागबन्धनैः: with serpent-bonds
• नागबन्धनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग + बन्धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (नागैः बन्धनानि / नागानां बन्धनानि)

• भर्तुः: of (their) lord
• भर्तुः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• आज्ञाम्: command
• आज्ञाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आज्ञा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• पुरस्कृत्य: having kept foremost/obeying
• पुरस्कृत्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पुरस् + कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) from causative/compound verb; अर्थः—having placed in front / having kept as foremost (i.e., honoring)

• चिक्षिपुः: they threw
• चिक्षिपुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदी

• सलिलार्णवे: into the watery ocean
• सलिलार्णवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सलिल + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सलिलस्य अर्णवः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: authoritative

Prahlada Narrative

Phase: Persecution

Bhakti Quality: Equanimity amid physical restraint and violence

Persecution: Serpents

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Daityas
• Ocean (Arṇava)

FAQs

What is the significance of obeying a ruler’s command (ājñā) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights how political authority can compel swift, coordinated action—here portrayed through the Daityas—setting up a moral contrast between mere power and dharmic rule.

How does Sage Parāśara explain coercion and captivity in dynastic narratives?

By describing binding (nāgabandhana) and disposal into the ocean, the narrative shows the extremes of force used in struggles for sovereignty, against which later restoration of order is typically framed.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s dynastic conflicts are ultimately read under Vishnu’s supreme governance of cosmic order, where adharma-driven acts become occasions for re-establishing balance.