Shloka 38
सोमचक्रः, ग्रह-रथाः, ध्रुवबन्धनं, शिशुमारसंनिवेशः, विष्णु-सर्वात्मकता
Moon, Planets, Dhruva-Tethering, Śiśumāra, and Vishnu as All
ज्योतींषि विष्णुर् भुवनानि विष्णुर् वनानि विष्णुर् गिरयो दिशश् च नद्यः समुद्राश् च स एव सर्वं यद् अस्ति यन् नास्ति च विप्रवर्य
jyotīṃṣi viṣṇur bhuvanāni viṣṇur vanāni viṣṇur girayo diśaś ca nadyaḥ samudrāś ca sa eva sarvaṃ yad asti yan nāsti ca vipravarya
The luminaries are Vishnu; the worlds are Vishnu. The forests are Vishnu; the mountains and the directions are Vishnu. The rivers and the oceans too—He alone is all this: whatever exists, and even what is said not to exist, O best of Brahmins.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Identity of all cosmic and terrestrial features with Viṣṇu; the all-pervasive nature of the Lord in geography and cosmos
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: revealing
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)
Concept: All that appears—luminaries, worlds, directions, rivers, oceans—is pervaded by and inseparable from Viṣṇu; He is the totality of being and the ground of negation as well.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman
Application: Practice viṣṇu-smṛti by perceiving the divine in natural phenomena and daily surroundings, transforming perception into worship.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms Viṣṇu as the inner controller and substantive reality of the world (cit-acit as His modes), supporting qualified non-dualism rather than world-denial.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)
Bhakti Type: Shanta (peaceful)
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse teaches Vishnu’s complete pervasion: all cosmic structures (lights, worlds, directions, rivers, oceans) are upheld and suffused by Him, establishing Vishnu as the Supreme Reality behind the universe.
By enumerating the major constituents of the cosmos and identifying each as Vishnu, Parāśara frames creation as inseparable from the Lord—Vishnu is not merely within the universe but is its sustaining essence and ground.
Vishnu is presented as both the immanent presence in all phenomena and the transcendent source beyond categories of existence and non-existence—central to Vaishnava philosophy and Vishnu Purana cosmology.