Shloka 20

वासुदेवस्वरूपनिरूपणं—सर्गक्रमश्च

Vāsudeva’s Nature and the Ordered Process of Creation

Devanagari script

अक्षयं नान्यदाधारम् अमेयम् अजरं ध्रुवम् शब्दस्पर्शविहीनं तद् रूपादिभिर् असंहतम्

Transliteration

akṣayaṃ nānyadādhāram ameyam ajaraṃ dhruvam śabdasparśavihīnaṃ tad rūpādibhir asaṃhatam

Translation

He is imperishable, supported by none other; immeasurable, unaging, and ever steadfast. Free from sound and touch, He is not compounded by form and the other sensory qualities.

Word by Word

• अक्षयम्: imperishable
• अक्षयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adjective)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• अन्यत्: anything else
• अन्यत्: Visheshya (Qualified/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; pronoun)

• आधारम्: support, substratum
• आधारम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (Masculine, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• अमेयम्: immeasurable
• अमेयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adjective)

• अजरम्: ageless
• अजरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अजर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adjective)

• ध्रुवम्: fixed, eternal
• ध्रुवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adjective)

• शब्दस्पर्शविहीनम्: devoid of sound and touch
• शब्दस्पर्शविहीनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक) + स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक) + विहीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शब्दस्पर्शयोः विहीनम्) (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; genitive tatpurusha: 'devoid of sound and touch')

• तत्: that (principle)
• तत्: Visheshya (Qualified/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; pronoun)

• रूपादिभिः: by/with form and the rest (qualities)
• रूपादिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (रूप-आदि) (Neuter, Instrumental, Plural; tatpurusha: 'form etc.')

• असंहतम्: uncombined, unaggregated
• असंहतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असंहत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adjective)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Nature of the supreme, imperishable Reality beyond sensory qualities

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The supreme Reality is self-subsistent, immeasurable, and not constituted by sensory qualities such as sound and touch.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Practice neti-neti discernment by noticing what is sensory/compound and resting attention in the unchanging witness.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms Viṣṇu as the utterly independent (svatantra) reality, beyond prakṛtic guṇas and sense-qualities, yet knowable as the supreme Person.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of describing Vishnu as 'unsupported' (nānyadādhāram) in the Vishnu Purana?

It asserts Vishnu as the ultimate ground of being—everything depends on Him, while He depends on nothing else, establishing supreme sovereignty over creation and dissolution.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the Supreme as beyond the senses in this verse?

By stating He is devoid of sound and touch and not constituted by form and other sensory qualities, Parāśara indicates that the Highest Reality transcends material perception and is not a composite object.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here for Vaishnava philosophy?

The verse presents Vishnu as the eternal, immeasurable Supreme—transcendent to matter and sense-qualities—supporting later Vaishnava Vedanta readings where the Lord is the highest reality and the source of cosmic order.