Shloka 21

Devanagari script

पत्न्यर्थं प्रतिजग्राह धर्मो दाक्षायणीः प्रभुः ताभ्यः शिष्टा यवीयस्य एकादश सुलोचनाः

Transliteration

patnyarthaṃ pratijagrāha dharmo dākṣāyaṇīḥ prabhuḥ tābhyaḥ śiṣṭā yavīyasya ekādaśa sulocanāḥ

Translation

To establish the dharma of household life, the Lord Dharma accepted the daughters of Dakṣa as his wives. From those unions, in the younger line, were born eleven fair‑eyed daughters, famed for their virtuous nature.

Word by Word

• पत्न्यर्थम्: for the sake of a wife
• पत्न्यर्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पत्नी-अर्थः = पत्नी-हेतोः)

• प्रतिजग्राह: accepted/took
• प्रतिजग्राह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• धर्मः: Dharma
• धर्मः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• दाक्षायणीः: the daughters of Dakṣa (Dākṣāyaṇīs)
• दाक्षायणीः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दाक्षायणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• प्रभुः: the lord
• प्रभुः: Karta (Appositive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; धर्मः इत्यस्य विशेषणवत् (apposition)

• ताभ्यः: from them
• ताभ्यः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), बहुवचन

• शिष्टाः: the remaining (ones)
• शिष्टाः: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (कन्याः) इति अनुक्त-विशेष्य

• यवीयस्य: of the younger (one)
• यवीयस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यवीयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘younger (brother)’—genitive of relation

• एकादश: eleven
• एकादश: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकादश (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्याविशेषण, अविकारी; सुलोचनाः इति विशेष्यस्य संख्या

• सुलोचनाः: fair-eyed (maidens)
• सुलोचनाः: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + लोचना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (सु-लोचना = सुन्दर-लोचना)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating) to Maitreya

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How dharma is established through progeny and marital alliances among cosmic progenitors

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The gṛhastha framework is presented as a dhārmic institution through which social and sacrificial continuity is secured.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Honor responsibilities—marriage, care, livelihood, and generosity—as spiritual disciplines supporting society and worship.

Vishishtadvaita: Worldly institutions (āśramas) are meaningful modes of serving the Lord, not obstacles when aligned with dharma.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Daksha (Dakṣa)
• Daksha’s daughters (Dākṣāyaṇīs)

FAQs

What is the significance of Dharma marrying Daksha’s daughters in the Vishnu Purana?

It frames cosmic order (dharma) as a lived, generative principle—establishing lineages that sustain society and the created world through lawful relationships.

How does Sage Parāśara explain genealogies in this section?

Parāśara presents marriages and offspring as a structured map of creation, where virtues and cosmic functions are transmitted through named familial lines.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic genealogy operates under Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty: the ordering power of Dharma and creation’s continuity are understood as upheld by the Supreme Reality.