Shloka 33

Devanagari script

विलोचने रात्र्यहनी महात्मन् सर्वास्पदं ब्रह्म परं शिरस् ते सूक्तान्य् अशेषाणि सटाकलापो घ्राणं समस्तानि हवींषि देव

Transliteration

vilocane rātryahanī mahātman sarvāspadaṃ brahma paraṃ śiras te sūktāny aśeṣāṇi saṭākalāpo ghrāṇaṃ samastāni havīṃṣi deva

Translation

O great-souled Lord, your two eyes are night and day. Your head is the Supreme Brahman, the highest refuge of all. The entire mass of your matted locks is all the Vedic hymns without remainder; your nostrils are all sacrificial oblations—O God, in you the whole order of worship and time is gathered and upheld.

Word by Word

• विलोचने: (your) two eyes
• विलोचने: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विलोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचन (Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Dual)

• रात्रि-अहनी: night and day
• रात्रि-अहनी: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचन (Feminine, Nom/Acc, Dual); द्वन्द्वसमास

• महात्मन्: O great-souled one
• महात्मन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular)

• सर्व-आस्पदम्: the abode of all
• सर्व-आस्पदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + आस्पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-तत्पुरुष (all as locus)

• ब्रह्म: Brahman
• ब्रह्म: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifying ब्रह्म)

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• ते: your
• ते: Shashthi-Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन (Genitive, Singular); सर्वनाम

• सूक्तानि: hymns
• सूक्तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural)

• अशेषाणि: all, without remainder
• अशेषाणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural); विशेषणम् (qualifying सूक्तानि)

• सटाकलापः: the mane (tufted mass)
• सटाकलापः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सटा (प्रातिपदिक) + कलाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (mane-bundle)

• घ्राणम्: nose
• घ्राणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घ्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• समस्तानि: all together, entire
• समस्तानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural); विशेषणम् (qualifying हवींषि)

• हवींषि: oblations
• हवींषि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हविस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural)

• देव: O god
• देव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya) in a hymn-like description of the Lord’s cosmic form

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Nature of the Supreme Lord as the ground of time and Vedic worship (Vishnu’s all-encompassing form).

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord is the supreme refuge in whom time, Veda, and yajña are integrated as His own being.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Contemplate daily cycles and worship as expressions of the Divine presence, offering actions with God-centered awareness.

Vishishtadvaita: Vishnu is both transcendent (paraṃ brahma) and immanent as the inner controller of time and ritual order.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Brahman
• Vedic hymns (Suktas)
• Night and Day
• Sacrificial oblations (Havis)

FAQs

What is the significance of night and day being called the Lord’s eyes in the Vishnu Purana?

It presents time (day–night cycles) as an expression of the Supreme’s cosmic body, showing that universal order operates within Vishnu’s sustaining presence.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the relationship between the Vedas and the Supreme in this verse?

By identifying the totality of Vedic hymns with the Lord’s very form (his matted locks), Parāśara teaches that revelation (śruti) is inseparable from the Supreme Reality it praises.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu being linked to Brahman and sacrifice here?

The verse affirms Vishnu as Para Brahman and the inner ground of yajña—both the object of worship and the cosmic basis that makes worship and its fruits possible.