Shloka 55

वासुदेवस्वरूपनिरूपणं—सर्गक्रमश्च

Vāsudeva’s Nature and the Ordered Process of Creation

Devanagari script

तत्राव्यक्तस्वरूपो ऽसौ व्यक्तरूपी जगत्पतिः विष्णुर् ब्रह्मस्वरूपेण स्वयम् एव व्यवस्थितः

Transliteration

tatrāvyaktasvarūpo 'sau vyaktarūpī jagatpatiḥ viṣṇur brahmasvarūpeṇa svayam eva vyavasthitaḥ

Translation

There the Lord of the universe—Vishnu—abides by Himself as Brahman: unmanifest in His own essential nature, yet appearing in manifest form as the ruler and support of the world.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of place)

• अव्यक्तस्वरूपः: having an unmanifest nature/form
• अव्यक्तस्वरूपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (masculine nominative singular adjective)

• असौ: that (he)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• व्यक्तरूपी: having a manifest form
• व्यक्तरूपी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्यक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (masculine nominative singular adjective)

• जगत्पतिः: lord of the world
• जगत्पतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

• विष्णुः: Vishnu
• विष्णुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

• ब्रह्मस्वरूपेण: by/with the form of Brahman
• ब्रह्मस्वरूपेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/हेतु-भाव (instrumental singular; ‘in the form of’)

• स्वयम्: himself
• स्वयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आत्मवाचक (indeclinable reflexive/adverb ‘oneself’)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (indeclinable particle of emphasis)

• व्यवस्थितः: is established/abides
• व्यवस्थितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + अव + स्था (धातु) → व्यवस्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगसामर्थ्य (past participle; ‘being established/remaining’)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Nature of Viṣṇu as Brahman and His relation to the manifest/unmanifest cosmos

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Viṣṇu alone abides as Brahman—unmanifest in essence yet manifest as the Lord who governs and supports the world.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Contemplate the same divine reality as both beyond attributes and present within all experience, cultivating steady God-remembrance in daily duties.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms the Lord’s transcendence (avyakta-svarūpa) together with real immanence as jagatpati, supporting a qualified non-dual relation of Brahman and world.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Brahman
• Jagat (the universe)

FAQs

What is the significance of the unmanifest and manifest forms of Vishnu in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse states that Vishnu is simultaneously beyond perception as the unmanifest reality and also present as the manifest Lord governing the cosmos—linking metaphysics (Brahman) with lived cosmology (Jagatpati).

How does Sage Parāśara explain Brahman in this passage?

Parāśara identifies Brahman not as an abstract principle separate from deity, but as Vishnu Himself—self-established, the same Supreme who can remain unmanifest and yet appear in forms for the world’s order.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Vishnu is presented as the Supreme Reality (Brahman) and sovereign Lord of the universe, grounding Vaishnava theology where all manifestation proceeds from—and is sustained by—Him without diminishing His transcendence.