Shloka 68

Devanagari script

पक्षिणः स्थावराश् चैव पिपीलिकसरीसृपाः भूम्यापो ऽग्निर् नभो वायुः शब्दः स्पर्शस् तथा रसः

Transliteration

pakṣiṇaḥ sthāvarāś caiva pipīlikasarīsṛpāḥ bhūmyāpo 'gnir nabho vāyuḥ śabdaḥ sparśas tathā rasaḥ

Translation

Birds and the unmoving beings; ants and creeping creatures—so too earth, waters, fire, ether, and wind; and sound, touch, and taste: thus are beings and elements with their qualities reckoned, as the manifold world unfolds from the One sovereign Reality.

Word by Word

• pakṣiṇaḥ: birds
• pakṣiṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• sthāvarāḥ: immobile beings (plants etc.)
• sthāvarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• pipīlikā-sarīsṛpāḥ: ants and reptiles/creeping creatures
• pipīlikā-sarīsṛpāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pipīlikā (प्रातिपदिक) + sarīsṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास

• bhūmi-āpaḥ: earth and waters
• bhūmi-āpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + ap (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास; आपः = जलानि (waters)

• agniḥ: fire
• agniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• nabhaḥ: sky/ether
• nabhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vāyuḥ: wind/air
• vāyuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• śabdaḥ: sound
• śabdaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sparśaḥ: touch
• sparśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sparśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tathā: and likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/particle)

• rasaḥ: taste/essence
• rasaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the manifold world—beings, elements, and sense-qualities—unfolds while remaining grounded in the One

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda (universe)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Living orders and the pañca-bhūtas with their tanmātra-qualities are enumerated to show the One Reality manifesting as the world’s diversified field.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Use the element-and-quality mapping as a meditation: trace sensory experience back to its source and offer it inwardly to the Lord.

Vishishtadvaita: Diversity of real categories (cit and acit) is affirmed as dependent manifestation within the Lord’s all-pervasive being, not an illusion independent of Him.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)

Bhakti Type: Shanta (peaceful)

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

FAQs

What is the significance of listing beings and elements in this Vishnu Purana verse?

It presents an ordered cosmology—life-forms and the great elements with their qualities—showing the structured manifestation of the universe rather than a random creation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the relationship between elements and sensory qualities here?

He places the mahābhūtas (earth, water, fire, ether, air) alongside their perceptible qualities (sound, touch, taste), indicating that the world is known through specific attributes that accompany creation.

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

Even when not named in the verse, the surrounding teaching frames these categories as part of Vishnu’s governed manifestation—an intelligible cosmos sustained by the Supreme Lord.