Shloka 16

Devanagari script

देव प्रपन्नार्तिहर प्रसादं कुरु केशव अवलोकनदानेन भूयो मां पावयाव्यय

Transliteration

deva prapannārtihara prasādaṃ kuru keśava avalokanadānena bhūyo māṃ pāvayāvyaya

Translation

O God, remover of the distress of those who surrender, O Keśava, grant me Your grace. By the gift of Your glance, purify me again and again, O Imperishable One.

Word by Word

• देव: O god
• देव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — vocative singular

• प्रपन्नार्तिहर: O remover of the distress of the surrendered
• प्रपन्नार्तिहर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रपन्न-आर्ति-हर (प्रातिपदिक; प्रपन्न=शरणागत, आर्ति=दुःख, हर=हर्तृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — vocative singular; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (प्रपन्नानाम् आर्तिं हरति इति)

• प्रसादम्: grace, favor
• प्रसादम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रसाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/कर्म), एकवचन — accusative singular

• कुरु: do, grant
• कुरु: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन — imperative, 2nd person singular

• केशव: O Keśava
• केशव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — vocative singular

• अवलोकनदानेन: by the gift of (your) sight
• अवलोकनदानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवलोकन-दान (प्रातिपदिक; अवलोकन=दर्शन, दान=प्रदान)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/करण), एकवचन — instrumental singular; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अवलोकनस्य दानम्)

• भूयः: again, further
• भूयः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूयस् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-निष्पन्न)
• Form: अव्यय — क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (2/कर्म), एकवचन — accusative singular

• पावय: purify
• पावय: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पू (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन — imperative, 2nd person singular; णिच् (causative) रूप: पावय

• अव्यय: O imperishable one
• अव्यय: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अव्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — vocative singular

Speaker

Dhruva (the devotee-king), in prayer to Lord Vishnu

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the Lord protects His devotees and what Prahlāda asked of Him

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Narasimha

Purpose: He manifests to protect Prahlāda and destroy Hiraṇyakaśipu’s tyranny that defied dharma and devotion.

Leela: Moksha-dana

Dharma Restored: Protection of śaraṇāgati (surrender) and the inviolability of bhakti

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord’s prasāda—symbolized by His purifying glance—is the saving power for one who surrenders.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Cultivate daily śaraṇāgati through prayer, asking not for control but for inner purification and steadiness in remembrance.

Vishishtadvaita: Grace (prasāda) from the personal Lord is primary, with the jīva approaching Him as dependent (śeṣa) and protected (rakṣya).

Prahlada Narrative

Phase: Triumph

Bhakti Quality: Śaraṇāgati and humility (seeking the Lord’s prasāda as sole purifier)

Narasimha: Prahlāda directly petitions the Lord after deliverance, seeking grace and repeated purification by the Lord’s glance.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Dhruva

FAQs

What is the significance of surrender (prapatti) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames Vishnu as “prapannārtihara,” the remover of the sufferings of those who take refuge—highlighting surrender as a direct path to divine protection and mercy.

How does the text present purification through Vishnu’s glance (avalokana)?

The devotee asks to be purified “again and again” by the Lord’s mere look, implying that sanctification is effected not only by ritual but by intimate divine grace.

What is the theological importance of calling Vishnu 'avyaya' (imperishable) here?

Addressing Vishnu as the Imperishable underscores His status as the unchanging Supreme Reality, whose grace is reliable and transcends worldly decay and instability.