Shloka 66

भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः

Devanagari script

कर्मवश्या गुणा ह्य् एते सत्त्वाद्याः पृथिवीपते अविद्यासंचितं कर्म तच् चाशेषेषु जन्तुषु

Transliteration

karmavaśyā guṇā hy ete sattvādyāḥ pṛthivīpate avidyāsaṃcitaṃ karma tac cāśeṣeṣu jantuṣu

Translation

O lord of the earth, these guṇas—beginning with sattva—truly move under the governance of karma; and that karma, amassed through ignorance, is found without remainder throughout all living beings.

Word by Word

• कर्मवश्याः: subject to karma
• कर्मवश्याः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्म + वश्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; compound: कर्मणः वश्याः ‘subject to karma’

• गुणाः: qualities (guṇas)
• गुणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; Masculine nominative plural

• हि: indeed / for
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ

• एते: these
• एते: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषण, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; Demonstrative adjective, nominative plural

• सत्त्वाद्याः: beginning with sattva (i.e., sattva, rajas, tamas)
• सत्त्वाद्याः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्त्व + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; compound: सत्त्वम् आदिः येषां ते ‘beginning with sattva’

• पृथिवीपते: O lord of the earth
• पृथिवीपते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन; Vocative singular; compound: पृथिव्याः पतिः

• अविद्यासंचितम्: accumulated by ignorance
• अविद्यासंचितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अविद्या + संचित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; Past passive participle (क्त) from √चि ‘accumulated’; compound: अविद्यया संचितम्

• कर्म: karma, action (as accumulated deed)
• कर्म: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; Neuter nominative/accusative singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Anvaya (Correlative/अन्वय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; Pronoun ‘that’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction/particle)

• अशेषेषु: in all (without remainder)
• अशेषेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), बहुवचन; Locative plural ‘in all/entire’

• जन्तुषु: in living beings
• जन्तुषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), बहुवचन; Locative plural

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya; using royal-style vocative ‘pṛthivīpate’ as an honorific)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How guṇas operate under karma and how karma arises from avidyā across all beings

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The guṇas function under the compulsion of karma, and karma itself accumulates through ignorance and pervades all embodied beings.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Trace recurring reactions to their karmic conditioning and weaken avidyā through study, ethical restraint, and devotional remembrance rather than feeding habitual guṇa-patterns.

Vishishtadvaita: By locating bondage in avidyā-born karma affecting the jīva, the verse supports the need for the Lord’s grace and right knowledge to restore the jīva’s proper dependence (śeṣatva).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Sattva
• Karma
• Avidyā (Ignorance)
• All beings (Jantus)

FAQs

What is the significance of the three guṇas in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames sattva, rajas, and tamas as not random traits but as modes that operate under karmic governance, shaping embodied life across all beings.

How does Sage Parāśara explain karma in relation to ignorance (avidyā)?

He states that karma is accumulated through avidyā, implying that misunderstanding reality fuels action-and-result patterns that bind beings universally.

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

By describing bondage as ignorance-born karma affecting all creatures, the Purana implicitly points toward Vishnu as the supreme ground of order and the liberating truth through which avidyā is dispelled.