Shloka 2
प्रह्लादस्य विष्णुमयता, विष्णोः दर्शनं, वरदानं, तथा चरितश्रवण-फलम्
विसस्मार तथात्मानं नान्यत् किंचिद् अजानत अहम् एवाव्ययो ऽनन्तः परमात्मेत्य् अचिन्तयत्
visasmāra tathātmānaṃ nānyat kiṃcid ajānata aham evāvyayo 'nantaḥ paramātmety acintayat
Thus he forgot even his former sense of self and knew nothing else at all; he contemplated, “I alone am the imperishable, the infinite—indeed, the Supreme Self.”
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Characteristics of samādhi where individuality is eclipsed
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: revealing
Concept: In profound absorption, the prior ego-sense is forgotten and only the intuition of the imperishable, infinite Paramātman remains.
Vedantic Theme: Atman
Application: Practice sustained inward recollection (smaraṇa) and reduce sensory dispersal to cultivate one-pointed awareness.
Vishishtadvaita: The ‘I am’ language is read as the Lord’s supremacy shining in consciousness—selfhood is subordinated to Paramātman rather than autonomous ego.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse frames liberation as the collapse of all other identifications, culminating in contemplation of the imperishable, infinite Supreme Self—identified in Vaishnava theology with Vishnu.
By stating that one “forgets even himself” and knows nothing else, Parāśara depicts a yogic absorption where ego-based selfhood falls away and only the Supreme principle is contemplated.
The attributes “Avyaya” and “Ananta” point to the ultimate, unconditioned reality; in the Vishnu Purana’s Vaishnava framework, that Supreme Self is Vishnu as the ground and ruler of the cosmos.