Shloka 11

Devanagari script

प्रजास् ता ब्रह्मणा सृष्टाश् चातुर्वर्ण्यव्यवस्थितौ सम्यक्छ्रद्धाः समाचारप्रवणा मुनिसत्तम

Transliteration

prajās tā brahmaṇā sṛṣṭāś cāturvarṇyavyavasthitau samyakchraddhāḥ samācārapravaṇā munisattama

Translation

Those creatures, brought forth by Brahmā, were duly arranged within the fourfold order. O best of sages, endowed with right faith and inclined to proper conduct, they lived in harmony with the discipline of dharma.

Word by Word

• प्रजाः: creatures, subjects
• प्रजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• ताः: those
• ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• ब्रह्मणा: by Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• सृष्टाः: created
• सृष्टाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सृज् (धातु) → सृष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; प्रजाः/ताः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• चातुर्वर्ण्यव्यवस्थितौ: established in the fourfold varṇa order
• चातुर्वर्ण्यव्यवस्थितौ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चातुर्वर्ण्य (प्रातिपदिक; चतुर् + वर्ण्य) + व्यवस्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (चातुर्वर्ण्ये व्यवस्थिताः)

• सम्यक्: properly
• सम्यक्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्यक् (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• श्रद्धाः: faithful
• श्रद्धाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रद्धा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (श्रद्धावन्तः)

• समाचारप्रवणाः: inclined to right conduct
• समाचारप्रवणाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समाचार (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रवण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (समाचारे प्रवणाः)

• मुनिसत्तम: O best of sages
• मुनिसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (मुनीनां सत्तमः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How Brahmā’s created beings were ordered by varṇa and aligned with śraddhā and right conduct

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Society is portrayed as instituted in an ordered fourfold structure, sustained by śraddhā and proper conduct aligned with sacred discipline.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat one’s duties as a means to inner purification—integrity, truthfulness, and steadiness in daily obligations.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma as divinely grounded order supports the view that embodied life is a purposeful mode within the Lord’s governance, not an illusory accident.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the significance of cāturvarṇya in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents the fourfold order as an early structuring principle of society after creation—meant to support dharma through disciplined roles and conduct.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the basis of social harmony here?

He links harmony to two inner-outer pillars: correct faith (samyak-śraddhā) and devotion to proper conduct (samācāra), implying that order is sustained by ethics as much as by structure.

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

Even when Brahmā is named as creator, the Vishnu Purana’s broader frame treats such creation as operating under Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty—cosmic order and dharma ultimately rest in the Supreme Reality.