Shloka 39
ज्ञानस्वरूपो भगवान् यतो ऽसाव् अशेषमूर्तिर् न तु वस्तुभूतः ततो हि शैलाब्धिधरादिभेदाञ् जानीहि विज्ञानविजृम्भितानि
jñānasvarūpo bhagavān yato 'sāv aśeṣamūrtir na tu vastubhūtaḥ tato hi śailābdhidharādibhedāñ jānīhi vijñānavijṛmbhitāni
Know that Bhagavān is of the very nature of pure consciousness: He is the form of all forms, yet not a thing among things. Therefore the distinctions such as mountain, ocean, and the supporting earth are to be understood as expansions manifested through His divine knowledge (vijñāna).
Sage Parāśara
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Ontological status of distinctions (mountain/ocean/earth) and their dependence on Bhagavān’s consciousness and vijñāna
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Bhagavān is consciousness itself—bearing all forms without becoming a finite object—so worldly distinctions are manifestations dependent on His vijñāna.
Vedantic Theme: Atman
Application: Cultivate viveka: see forms and differences as dependent realities, and anchor awareness in the witnessing consciousness aligned with devotion to Bhagavān.
Vishishtadvaita: Maintains Bhagavān’s transcendence (not a ‘thing among things’) while allowing real, God-dependent plurality as His manifested modes.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
It asserts that Vishnu’s ultimate nature is pure consciousness, not material substance, making Him the ground of all experience and all cosmic forms.
He frames worldly differences as vijñāna-vijṛmbhita—unfoldings of divine knowledge—so plurality is real as manifestation, while the Supreme remains beyond objecthood.
Vishnu is presented as the Supreme Reality who pervades all forms without becoming a finite thing, aligning creation with His sovereignty and conscious power.