Shloka 18
वासुदेवस्वरूपनिरूपणं—सर्गक्रमश्च
Vāsudeva’s Nature and the Ordered Process of Creation
व्यक्तं विष्णुस् तथाव्यक्तं पुरुषः काल एव च क्रीडतो बालकस्येव चेष्टां तस्य निशामय
vyaktaṃ viṣṇus tathāvyaktaṃ puruṣaḥ kāla eva ca krīḍato bālakasyeva ceṣṭāṃ tasya niśāmaya
Know that Viṣṇu is both the manifest and the unmanifest; He is the Puruṣa, and He alone is Kāla, Time. Behold His activity—like the play of a child—spontaneous, sovereign, and effortless.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How can Vishnu be simultaneously vyakta/avyakta, puruṣa, and kāla, and yet act effortlessly?
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: compassionate
Creation Stage: Primary
Concept: Vishnu pervades as manifest and unmanifest, as indwelling Puruṣa and as Time, yet His cosmic activity is spontaneous—like a child’s play—free from strain or necessity.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman
Application: Relate to the divine governance of life’s changes with trust: practice surrender (prapatti) and steady remembrance when time and circumstance shift.
Vishishtadvaita: The ‘play’ metaphor supports a personal Absolute whose will sustains the cosmos without limitation, aligning transcendence with intimate immanence (antaryāmitva).
Vishnu Form: Hari
Bhakti Type: Shanta
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse presents Vishnu as transcending the visible cosmos (manifest) while also being its subtle, unconditioned ground (unmanifest), framing all reality as dependent on the Supreme Lord.
Parāśara identifies Kāla as not separate from God but as an aspect of Vishnu’s sovereignty—Time is the Lord’s own power through which change, order, and cosmic cycles proceed.
The image conveys līlā: creation and governance occur without constraint or necessity, highlighting Vishnu’s absolute freedom and effortless supremacy rather than a compelled or mechanical causation.