Shloka 11

Devanagari script

अहंकृता अहंमाना अष्टाविंशद्वधात्मकाः अन्तःप्रकाशास् ते सर्वे आवृताश् च परस्परम्

Transliteration

ahaṃkṛtā ahaṃmānā aṣṭāviṃśadvadhātmakāḥ antaḥprakāśās te sarve āvṛtāś ca parasparam

Translation

Ego-making and ego-sense—together forming the twenty-eight principles—are each luminous within; yet all are mutually veiled, each in turn covering the other.

Word by Word

• अहंकृताः: born of egoism / ego-made
• अहंकृताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अहंकृता (प्रातिपदिक; अहं + कृता)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘अहंकार-जनिताः’

• अहंमानाः: having self-conceit
• अहंमानाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अहंमाना (प्रातिपदिक; अहं + मान)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘अहंभाव-मानयुक्ताः’

• अष्टाविंशद्वधात्मकाः: of the nature of twenty-eight kinds (of ‘vadhā’/modes)
• अष्टाविंशद्वधात्मकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टाविंशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + वधा (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘अष्टाविंशत्-वध-स्वभावाः/रूपाः’

• अन्तःप्रकाशाः: inwardly luminous
• अन्तःप्रकाशाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्तः (अव्यय) + प्रकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘अन्तः (अभ्यन्तरे) प्रकाशः येषाम्’

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• आवृताः: covered, enveloped
• आवृताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ√वृ (धातु) → आवृत (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/कर्मणि प्रयोगः—‘आवृत’ = covered/enveloped

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• परस्परम्: mutually, one another
• परस्परम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परस्पर (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-निपात)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण—‘अन्योन्यम्’ (mutually)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Process of sarga (creation) and the unfolding of tattvas from prakṛti

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Though the evolutes (tattvas) are intrinsically revealing (antaḥprakāśa), they function as mutual coverings, explaining bondage through layered manifestation.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Use discernment (viveka) in meditation to see how ego-sense and its derivatives obscure clarity, and practice steady inquiry to ‘unveil’ awareness.

Vishishtadvaita: The world and its principles are real as modes (prakāra) of the Supreme, yet their inter-covering obscures direct recognition of the Lord’s presence.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Ahaṃkāra (ego principle)
• Tattvas (cosmic principles)

FAQs

What is the significance of mutual veiling (parasparam āvṛtāḥ) in the Vishnu Purana?

It explains why inherently ‘luminous’ principles still appear limited: each tattva conditions the next, producing layered perception and bondage within the created order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain ego (ahaṃkāra/ahaṃmāna) in this verse?

He presents ego-making and ego-sense as core creative principles within the wider set of tattvas—self-revealing in themselves, yet functioning through reciprocal limitation.

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

By describing the tattvas and their veiling, the text implicitly contrasts conditioned principles with Vishnu as the sovereign ground beyond such coverings—the ultimate source and regulator of cosmic order.