Shloka 49

वासुदेवस्वरूपनिरूपणं—सर्गक्रमश्च

Vāsudeva’s Nature and the Ordered Process of Creation

Devanagari script

आकाशवायुतेजांसि सलिलं पृथिवी तथा शब्दादिभिर् गुणैर् ब्रह्मन् संयुक्तान्य् उत्तरोत्तरैः

Transliteration

ākāśavāyutejāṃsi salilaṃ pṛthivī tathā śabdādibhir guṇair brahman saṃyuktāny uttarottaraiḥ

Translation

O Brahmin, ether, wind, fire, water, and earth are each endowed with qualities beginning with sound; and in the successive elements these qualities increase step by step, each later one bearing those of the former and more besides.

Word by Word

• ākāśa-vāyu-tejāṃsi: ether, air, and fire
• ākāśa-vāyu-tejāṃsi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + vāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + tejas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः

• salilam: water
• salilam: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: salila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• pṛthivī: earth
• pṛthivī: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• tathā: and likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (thus/also)

• śabda-ādibhiḥ: with sound etc. (qualities)
• śabda-ādibhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabda (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शब्दः आदिः येषां ते)

• guṇaiḥ: with qualities
• guṇaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• brahman: O Brahmin
• brahman: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• saṃyuktāni: are conjoined/combined
• saṃyuktāni: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃyukta (प्रातिपदिक; sam- उपसर्ग + √yuj धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) — विधेय (are conjoined)

• uttara-uttaraiḥ: by the successive (later) ones
• uttara-uttaraiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक) + uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (उत्तरेण उत्तरेण = each succeeding)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Order of the five mahābhūtas and the cumulative addition of guṇas (sound onward) in successive elements

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: analytical

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The five elements are endowed with qualities beginning with sound, and each successive element includes the prior qualities plus an additional one.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Contemplate the layered composition of experience—how subtler qualities pervade the gross—to deepen discernment and reduce material fixation.

Vishishtadvaita: The ordered, cumulative structure of the elements reflects intelligent governance; prakṛti’s gradation is a dependent mode of the Supreme who is the jagat-kāraṇa.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of the five great elements (pañca-mahābhūta) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents the Purāṇic cosmology where the material world is structured through five elements, each carrying an increasing set of sensory qualities—showing an ordered, intelligible creation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the progression of qualities in the elements?

He states that starting from ether with sound, each subsequent element includes the earlier qualities and adds another, forming a cumulative sequence across ether, air, fire, water, and earth.

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

Though not named in this line, the teaching belongs to Vishnu Purana’s sarga framework where such lawful cosmic order is understood as occurring under the sovereignty of Vishnu as the supreme ground and governor of manifestation.