Shloka 66
वासुदेवस्वरूपनिरूपणं—सर्गक्रमश्च
Vāsudeva’s Nature and the Ordered Process of Creation
स्रष्टा सृजति चात्मानं विष्णुः पाल्यं च पाति च उपसंहरते चान्ते संहर्ता च स्वयं प्रभुः
sraṣṭā sṛjati cātmānaṃ viṣṇuḥ pālyaṃ ca pāti ca upasaṃharate cānte saṃhartā ca svayaṃ prabhuḥ
As Creator, Viṣṇu brings forth even Himself as the manifest cosmos; as Protector, He safeguards all that is to be sustained; and at the end, as Dissolver, He draws everything back into Himself—He alone is the sovereign Lord.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How the one Lord performs creation, protection, and reabsorption, remaining sovereign and self-contained
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Creation Stage: Kalpa
Concept: The one Prabhu manifests the cosmos from Himself, sustains it as its protector, and finally withdraws it back into Himself as its dissolver.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman
Application: Practice seeing all experiences as arising in, sustained by, and returning to the Lord—cultivating steadiness during gain and loss.
Vishishtadvaita: Explicitly presents the Lord as both material and efficient cause (jagat-kāraṇa) while remaining the sovereign self, aligning with a qualified non-dual causal doctrine.
Vishnu Form: Narayana
Bhakti Type: Shanta
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse identifies Vishnu as the single supreme reality who performs all three cosmic functions—bringing forth the world, sustaining it, and finally reabsorbing it—showing that the universe depends on Him at every stage.
By saying Vishnu “creates Himself” as the cosmos and later “withdraws” it, Parāśara frames manifestation as Vishnu’s self-expression while maintaining His sovereignty as the one who remains beyond and above the cycles.
Vishnu is presented as svayaṁ prabhuḥ—the independent Lord—supporting Vaishnava philosophy that the Supreme is personal, all-governing, and the ultimate cause of sṛṣṭi, sthiti, and pralaya.