Shloka 23

Devanagari script

विष्णुः पितृगणः पद्मा स्वधा शाश्वतपुष्टिदा द्यौः श्रीः सर्वात्मको विष्णुर् अवकाशो ऽतिविस्तरः

Transliteration

viṣṇuḥ pitṛgaṇaḥ padmā svadhā śāśvatapuṣṭidā dyauḥ śrīḥ sarvātmako viṣṇur avakāśo 'tivistaraḥ

Translation

Viṣṇu is the host of the Pitṛs; Viṣṇu is the lotus; Viṣṇu is Svadhā, the sacred oblation that sustains the ancestors. He is the giver of unfailing nourishment; He is the heavenly expanse; He is Śrī. Viṣṇu is the Self of all; Viṣṇu is space itself—vast, boundless, immeasurably extended.

Word by Word

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

• पितृगणः: host of ancestors
• पितृगणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + गण (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पितॄणां गणः = group of ancestors)

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

• स्वधा: svadhā (ancestral offering-call)
• स्वधा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (पितृ-यज्ञे मन्त्र-शब्दः)

• शाश्वतपुष्टिदा: giver of everlasting nourishment
• शाश्वतपुष्टिदा: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाश्वत + पुष्टिदा (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (शाश्वती पुष्टिः ददाति = giver of eternal nourishment)

• द्यौः: heaven, sky
• द्यौः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (द्यौः = heaven/sky)

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

• सर्वात्मकः: all-souled, consisting of all
• सर्वात्मकः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सर्वस्य आत्मा/आत्मकः = whose essence is all; all-souled)

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

• अवकाशः: space, openness
• अवकाशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अतिविस्तरः: vast, exceedingly expansive
• अतिविस्तरः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति + विस्तर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (अति = exceedingly + विस्तर = expanse)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: All-pervasiveness of Viṣṇu as pitṛs, oblation, heaven, and even space; establishing sarvātmā doctrine

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Viṣṇu is sarvātmā—the self of all—present as pitṛ-gaṇas, svadhā-oblation, nourishment, heaven, and even boundless space.

Vedantic Theme: Atman

Application: Practice contemplative remembrance (smaraṇa) by identifying the Lord’s presence in ancestry, gratitude-offerings, and the very openness of awareness (ākāśa-like).

Vishishtadvaita: Strong sarvātmā/antaryāmin claim: all entities (including lokas and ritual powers) are real modes supported and pervaded by Nārāyaṇa.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Pitrs (ancestral deities)
• Svadhā
• Śrī (Lakṣmī)
• Dyauḥ (Heaven/Sky)
• Space (Avakāśa)

FAQs

What is the significance of Svadhā in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse identifies Svadhā—the ancestral oblation—with Vishnu Himself, teaching that even Pitṛ-yajña and ancestral sustenance ultimately rest on the Supreme Lord’s presence.

How does Sage Parāśara explain Vishnu as sarvātmā (the Self of all)?

By listing cosmic and ritual principles (Pitṛs, lotus, heaven, space) as Vishnu, Parāśara presents Vishnu as the inner reality pervading every function and form, not merely as a separate deity.

What is the theological importance of calling Vishnu ‘space’ and ‘infinitely vast’ here?

It emphasizes Vishnu’s omnipresence and sovereignty: He is the accommodating ground of all existence, the boundless expanse in which worlds and beings arise, endure, and are sustained.