Shloka 43

दुर्वासाशापः, क्षीरसागरमन्थनम्, श्रीः (लक्ष्मी) उद्भवः तथा श्रीस्तुतिः

Devanagari script

सत्त्वादयो न सन्तीशे यत्र च प्राकृता गुणाः स शुद्धः सर्वशुद्धेभ्यः पुमान् आद्यः प्रसीदतु

Transliteration

sattvādayo na santīśe yatra ca prākṛtā guṇāḥ sa śuddhaḥ sarvaśuddhebhyaḥ pumān ādyaḥ prasīdatu

Translation

In the Lord, neither sattva and the other qualities exist, nor do the material guṇas of Prakṛti find any footing. May that Primordial Person—purer than all that is called pure—be gracious to us.

Word by Word

• सत्त्वादयः: sattva and the rest
• सत्त्वादयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्त्व + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘सत्त्वम् आदि यस्य’ इति समूहवाचक (sattva etc.)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• सन्ति: are
• सन्ति: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• ईशे: in the Lord
• ईशे: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• प्राकृताः: material, of prakṛti
• प्राकृताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राकृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• गुणाः: qualities (guṇas)
• गुणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

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

• शुद्धः: pure
• शुद्धः: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सर्वशुद्धेभ्यः: than all the pure (ones)
• सर्वशुद्धेभ्यः: Apādāna (Comparison point/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + शुद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान/तुलना), बहुवचन; ‘सर्वेषां शुद्धानाम्’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• पुमान्: the Person
• पुमान्: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुमांस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• आद्यः: primeval, first
• आद्यः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रसीदतु: may (he) be gracious
• प्रसीदतु: Kriyā (Benedictive/imperative action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √सद् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्-समकक्ष), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; verse voiced as a devotional-stotra statement within the narration)

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Īśvara is untouched by prakṛti’s guṇas; He is the primordial Person, supremely pure, approached through surrender for His grace.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: When disturbed by mental ‘guṇas’ (restlessness, inertia), recall the Lord as guṇa-atīta and seek steadiness through prayer and discipline.

Vishishtadvaita: Maintains Bhagavān’s transcendence from prakṛti while allowing real relation to the world—key to qualified non-dualism’s purity-with-immanence balance.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)

Bhakti Type: Shanta (peaceful)

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Isha (Supreme Lord)
• Three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Lord being beyond the guṇas in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse states that the Supreme Lord is untouched by Prakṛti’s sattva, rajas, and tamas, establishing Vishnu as transcendent sovereignty rather than a product of material nature.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the relation between Prakṛti and the Supreme Person here?

Parāśara distinguishes the Supreme Puruṣa from Prakṛti: the guṇas belong to material nature, while the Lord is intrinsically pure and not conditioned by those qualities.

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

Vishnu is affirmed as the primordial, supremely pure Person who grants grace—supporting a Vaishnava view of ultimate reality as personal, sovereign, and beyond material conditioning.