Shloka 56

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

Devanagari script

एकविंशम् अथर्वाणम् आप्तोर्यामाणम् एव च अनुष्टुभं स वैराजम् उत्तराद् असृजन् मुखात्

Transliteration

ekaviṃśam atharvāṇam āptoryāmāṇam eva ca anuṣṭubhaṃ sa vairājam uttarād asṛjan mukhāt

Translation

From his northern face he brought forth the twenty-first sacred lore, the Atharva-Veda, together with the Āptoryāma rite; and he manifested the Anuṣṭubh meter and the Vairāja cosmic order as well.

Word by Word

• एकविंशम्: the twenty-first
• एकविंशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकविंशति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (एक + विंशति)

• अथर्वाणम्: the Atharvan (Atharva-veda)
• अथर्वाणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अथर्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• आप्तोर्यामाणम्: the Āptoryāma (a Soma-rite)
• आप्तोर्यामाणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आप्तोर्यामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (आप्त + ओर्यामन्)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha/Particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Conjunction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अनुष्टुभम्: the Anuṣṭubh metre
• अनुष्टुभम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुष्टुभ् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (छन्दोनाम), द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स: he
• स: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (सर्वनाम)

• वैराजम्: Vairāja (pertaining to Virāj)
• वैराजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उत्तरात्: from the northern (side)
• उत्तरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन; दिशावाचक-शब्द

• असृजत्: created/emitted
• असृजत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृज् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (अनद्यतन-भूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मुखात्: from (his) mouth
• मुखात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Account of sarga—how Brahmā manifests Veda, chandas, and ritual from his faces

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Vedic revelation (Atharva), ritual (Āptoryāma), and meter (Anuṣṭubh) arise as ordered limbs of creation, implying a divinely grounded ṛta that structures knowledge and action.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat study, prayer/ritual, and disciplined speech as mutually reinforcing paths rather than separate pursuits.

Vishishtadvaita: The cosmos includes normative structures (Veda and yajña) that are real and divinely instituted, not illusory—supporting a world that is meaningful as Viṣṇu’s body/order.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Virāj (Vairāja principle)
• Atharva-Veda
• Āptoryāma (yajña rite)
• Anuṣṭubh (Vedic meter)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Atharva-Veda in this Vishnu Purana verse?

The verse frames the Atharva-Veda as a deliberate cosmic emanation—scripture arising as part of creation itself, not merely human composition.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the link between ritual (yajña) and cosmic order here?

By listing the Āptoryāma rite alongside Vedic revelation and meter, Parāśara presents yajña as a structural principle that sustains and mirrors the universe’s ordered functioning.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context?

Even when specific names are not stated, the Purāṇic doctrine treats the source of Veda, chandas, and cosmic order as the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose sovereignty expresses itself through revelation and the laws that uphold the world.