Shloka 5

Devanagari script

पितॄणां धर्मराजानं यमं राज्ये ऽभ्यषेचयत् ऐरावतं गजेन्द्राणाम् अशेषाणां पतिं ददौ

Transliteration

pitṝṇāṃ dharmarājānaṃ yamaṃ rājye 'bhyaṣecayat airāvataṃ gajendrāṇām aśeṣāṇāṃ patiṃ dadau

Translation

He installed Yama—the righteous king of Dharma—as the sovereign ruler over the realm of the Fathers (the Pitṛs); and he bestowed upon Airāvata lordship as the chief of all elephant-kings.

Word by Word

• पितॄणाम्: of the Pitṛs (ancestors)
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• धर्मराजानम्: Dharmarāja (king of justice)
• धर्मराजानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (धर्मस्य राजा)

• यमम्: Yama
• यमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; धर्मराजानम् इति समानाधिकरणम्

• राज्ये: in sovereignty/as ruler
• राज्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• अभ्यषेचयत्: anointed (installed)
• अभ्यषेचयत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + सिच् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/अनद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; धातुः—सिच् (to sprinkle/anoint) उपसर्गः—अभि

• ऐरावतम्: Airāvata
• ऐरावतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऐरावत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• गजेन्द्राणाम्: of the lordly elephants
• गजेन्द्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गजेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (गजानां इन्द्राः)

• अशेषाणाम्: of all (without remainder)
• अशेषाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्—गजेन्द्राणाम्

• पतिम्: lord
• पतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ऐरावतम् इति समानाधिकरणम्

• ददौ: gave/appointed
• ददौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Allocation of rulership over Pitṛ-loka and animal hierarchies (gajendra)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The cosmos includes moral administration: Yama presides over the Pitṛ realm as Dharma’s king, ensuring order beyond death; even animal domains have appointed excellence (Airāvata among elephants).

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Live with accountability beyond immediate life; honor ancestors through ethical living and remembrance, and cultivate stewardship toward animals and nature.

Vishishtadvaita: Karmic order is real and divinely administered; the Lord’s universe is a purposeful body (śarīra) where justice and hierarchy operate meaningfully.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Pitṛs
• Airāvata

FAQs

What is the significance of Yama being appointed over the Pitṛs in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames Yama not merely as a punisher but as Dharmarāja—an upholder of moral order—placed in authority to ensure just governance connected with ancestral realms and the ethical consequences of action.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic governance in this passage?

Parāśara describes a structured universe where offices and guardians are formally instituted—anointed and assigned—so that each realm functions according to dharma under a higher, divinely grounded sovereignty.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the narrative logic is Vaishnava: the cosmos runs by a supreme will that delegates authority—making dharma, judgment, and celestial order expressions of the Supreme Reality’s governance.