Shloka 20

रुद्रसर्गः (नीललोहितः), अष्टनाम-स्थान-परिवारः, श्री-नारायणयोः अभेदव्याप्तिः

Devanagari script

पत्नीशाला मुने लक्ष्मीः प्राग्वंशो मधुसूदनः चितिर् लक्ष्मीर् हरिर् यूप इध्मा श्रीर् भगवान् कुशः

Transliteration

patnīśālā mune lakṣmīḥ prāgvaṃśo madhusūdanaḥ citir lakṣmīr harir yūpa idhmā śrīr bhagavān kuśaḥ

Translation

O sage, Lakṣmī is the wives’ hall; Madhusūdana is the eastern lineage. The altar is Lakṣmī; Hari is the sacrificial post; Śrī is the kindling-fuel; and the blessed Kuśa-grass is Bhagavān Himself—thus, in sacrifice and its implements, the Lord and His śakti are to be known as the inner reality.

Word by Word

• पत्नीशाला: wives’ hall (patnīśālā)
• पत्नीशाला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्नी + शाला (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पत्नीनाṃ शाला = wives’ hall)

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• लक्ष्मीः: Lakṣmī
• लक्ष्मीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष्मी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्राग्वंशः: prāgvaṃśa (front/eastern beam/line)
• प्राग्वंशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राक् + वंश (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (प्राक् = east/forward + वंश = line; ‘front/eastern beam/lineage’)

• मधुसूदनः: Madhusūdana (Vishnu)
• मधुसूदनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मधु + सूदन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मधोः सूदनः = slayer of Madhu)

• चितिः: altar (citi), piling
• चितिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• लक्ष्मीः: Lakṣmī
• लक्ष्मीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष्मी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हरिः: Hari (Vishnu)
• हरिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यूपः: sacrificial post
• यूपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• इध्मा: fuel sticks
• इध्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इध्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Plural) (often used as collective ‘fuel sticks’)

• श्रीः: Śrī
• श्रीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• भगवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कुशः: kuśa grass
• कुशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How Bhagavān and Śrī are recognized within yajña-implements and ritual spaces

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord (Hari/Madhusūdana) and His śakti (Śrī/Lakṣmī) are the inner reality of the yajña’s places and implements—hall, altar, post, fuel, and kuśa.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Sanctify one’s environment by mentally offering every tool and space of work to the Lord as His body (śarīra) and presence.

Vishishtadvaita: Embodies the śarīra–śarīrī relation: all ritual constituents are real, yet exist as modes of the Lord, inseparable from Him.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu (Hari, Bhagavān, Madhusūdana)
• Lakshmi (Śrī)

FAQs

What is the significance of identifying ritual elements with Lakshmi and Vishnu in the Vishnu Purana?

It teaches that yajña is not merely external action: its spaces and implements are pervaded by Śrī (Lakṣmī) and governed inwardly by Hari, revealing Vishnu’s sovereignty as the reality within ritual.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the presence of the Supreme in Vedic sacrifice?

By mapping concrete ritual components—hall, altar, post, fuel, and kuśa—onto divine names, he shows that the Lord and His śakti are immanent in the rite, making worship a recognition of the Supreme within form.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Vishnu is presented as Bhagavān and Hari who pervades and sanctifies the sacrificial order, aligning devotional theism with Vedic practice: the Supreme is both transcendent and present in sacred action.