Shloka 79

प्रह्लादस्य अव्यभिचारिणी भक्ति, मायाविनाशः, तथा विष्णोः विश्वरूप-स्तुतिः

Devanagari script

नमस् तस्मै नमस् तस्मै नमस् तस्मै महात्मने नामरूपं न यस्यैको यो ऽस्तित्वेनोपलभ्यते

Transliteration

namas tasmai namas tasmai namas tasmai mahātmane nāmarūpaṃ na yasyaiko yo 'stitvenopalabhyate

Translation

Salutations to Him, salutations to Him, salutations to that Great Soul: having no name or form, the One is apprehended only as pure Existence.

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Kriya (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नमस्कारार्थे (neut. nom. sg.)

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (masc. dat. sg.)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Kriya (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (neut. nom. sg.; repetition)

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन (masc. dat. sg.)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Kriya (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (neut. nom. sg.; repetition)

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन (masc. dat. sg.)

• महात्मने: to the great-souled one
• महात्मने: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (masc. dat. sg.)

• नामरूपम्: name and form
• नामरूपम्: Karta (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाम (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (neut. nom./acc. sg.; 'name and form')

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• यस्य: of whom
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (gen. sg.)

• एकः: one, single
• एकः: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (masc. nom. sg.)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masc. nom. sg.)

• अस्तित्वेन: as existence / by (his) being
• अस्तित्वेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्तित्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन (neut. instr. sg.)

• उपलभ्यते: is apprehended / is realized
• उपलभ्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्, कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive) (laṭ, 3rd sg., Ātmanepada, passive)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya; doxological praise within the teaching)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The One beyond name and form, known as pure Existence

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Supreme is not grasped as a named or formed object; He is realized as the One reality of sheer Existence.

Vedantic Theme: Atman

Application: Shift attention from objects of experience to the fact of being itself, using steady inquiry and mantra to stabilize awareness.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms a transcendent Supreme not reducible to nāma-rūpa, while Purāṇic context maintains that this ‘sat’ is the personal Lord (not an impersonal void).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Para Brahman (Supreme Reality)

FAQs

What is the significance of being “beyond name and form” in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse praises Vishnu as transcending all limiting descriptions (nāma-rūpa), indicating that the Supreme cannot be reduced to finite attributes, even though He may be worshipped through forms in devotion.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of ultimate reality here?

Parāśara frames the Highest as the One realized as sheer “Existence” (astitva/sat), establishing a metaphysical foundation for the later cosmological teachings (creation, dissolution, and order).

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

Vishnu is presented as Para Brahman—the ultimate ground of being—worthy of repeated salutations, anchoring Vaishnava theology where the Supreme is both transcendent and the source of cosmic sovereignty.