Shloka 23

सर्गभेदाः — अविद्या, स्रोतोभेदाः, नव सर्गाः, देवासुरादिसृष्टिः, वेद-यज्ञप्रादुर्भावः

Devanagari script

ततो ऽर्वाक्स्रोतसां सर्गः सप्तमः स तु मानुषः

Transliteration

tato 'rvāksrotasāṃ sargaḥ saptamaḥ sa tu mānuṣaḥ

Translation

Thereafter comes the creation of those whose current flows downward; this is the seventh creation, the human order.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय/तद्-तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb)

• अर्वाक्स्रोतसाम्: of the downward-streaming (beings)
• अर्वाक्स्रोतसाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्वाक् (प्रातिपदिक) + स्रोतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अर्वाक् स्रोतः येषाम्); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• सर्गः: creation
• सर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• सप्तमः: seventh
• सप्तमः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण

• सः: that
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• मानुषः: human
• मानुषः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मानुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Identification of the seventh creation as the human order (arvāksrotas)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Humanity is a distinct created order (mānuṣa), characterized as arvāksrotas, implying a unique embodied condition where desire and duty must be governed by discernment.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat human birth as a dharma-responsibility: regulate sense-flows, practice devotion and self-restraint, and use discernment to turn ‘downward’ tendencies toward liberation.

Vishishtadvaita: Human embodiment is a real, purposeful station within the Lord’s cosmic body, specially suited for prapatti/bhakti and ethical agency.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Humans (Mānuṣa)
• Arvāksrotas (downward-flowing beings)

FAQs

What is the significance of the term Arvāksrotas in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, Arvāksrotas identifies the class of beings whose vital orientation is described as “downward-flowing,” specifically indicating the human creation as the seventh sarga.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the sequence of creation (sarga) here?

Parāśara places humanity within a structured, enumerated cosmology: after earlier creations, he states that the seventh creation is the human (mānuṣa) order, showing a deliberate taxonomy of beings.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames all sarga as unfolding under the supreme ordering principle of Vishnu—creation is not random, but an intelligible cosmic arrangement grounded in the Highest Reality.