Shloka 8

वासुदेवस्वरूपनिरूपणं—सर्गक्रमश्च

Vāsudeva’s Nature and the Ordered Process of Creation

Devanagari script

कथयामि यथापूर्वं दक्षाद्यैर् मुनिसत्तमैः पृष्टः प्रोवाच भगवान् अब्जयोनिः पितामहः

Transliteration

kathayāmi yathāpūrvaṃ dakṣādyair munisattamaiḥ pṛṣṭaḥ provāca bhagavān abjayoniḥ pitāmahaḥ

Translation

I shall recount it exactly as it was told before: when the foremost sages—beginning with Dakṣa—questioned him, the Blessed Grandfather, Brahmā the lotus-born, answered and declared it.

Word by Word

• कथयामि: I narrate/tell
• कथयामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथय् (धातु; कथ्/कथय्)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• यथापूर्वम्: as previously
• यथापूर्वम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्यय (adverb) ‘as before’

• दक्षाद्यैः: by Dakṣa and others
• दक्षाद्यैः: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (दक्षः आदिः येषाम्) ‘Dakṣa and others’

• मुनिसत्तमैः: by the best of sages
• मुनिसत्तमैः: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुनीनाम् सत्तमैः)

• पृष्टः: (he) having been asked
• पृष्टः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘having been asked’

• प्रोवाच: said/spoke forth
• प्रोवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘said’

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• भगवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• अब्जयोनिः: the lotus-born (Brahmā)
• अब्जयोनिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अब्ज (प्रातिपदिक) + योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अब्जस्य योनिः)

• पितामहः: the grandsire
• पितामहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya, invoking an earlier Brahmā-to-sages transmission)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Transmission of the primordial teaching: what Brahmā taught when questioned by sages like Dakṣa

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Brahmā (Abjayoni/Pitāmaha)
• Sages (Munis)

FAQs

What is the significance of Brahmā being called Abjayoni (lotus-born) and Pitāmaha in the Vishnu Purana?

It marks Brahmā as the cosmic progenitor and authoritative transmitter of creation lore, grounding the account in a recognized Purāṇic lineage of teaching.

How does Sage Parāśara establish credibility for the creation narrative in this verse?

He anchors his narration in an earlier, revered dialogue—Brahmā’s response to Dakṣa and other foremost sages—presenting the teaching as preserved tradition rather than personal invention.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context, even though Vishnu is not named in the verse?

The verse sets the transmission frame for cosmology that the Vishnu Purana ultimately interprets under Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty, with Brahmā functioning as a dependent cosmic agent within that higher order.