Shloka 20
ऋभु–निदाघ-संवादः—अद्वैत-उपदेशः, समता, वासुदेव-स्वरूप-एकत्वम्
वह्निना पार्थिवे धातौ क्षपिते क्षुत्समुद्भवः भवत्य् अम्भसि च क्षीणे नृणां तृड् अपि जायते
vahninā pārthive dhātau kṣapite kṣutsamudbhavaḥ bhavaty ambhasi ca kṣīṇe nṛṇāṃ tṛḍ api jāyate
When the earthly element is consumed by fire, hunger is born; and when the waters diminish, thirst too arises among human beings.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: Hunger and thirst arise from elemental disequilibrium—fire consuming earth and depletion of water—showing bodily experience depends on material constituents governed by cosmic order.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Care for the body as an instrument (diet, hydration, balance) while remembering sensations are conditioned phenomena, not the ultimate Self.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms a real, ordered world sustained by the Supreme (Nārāyaṇa) while locating bodily states within prakṛti under divine governance.
Vishnu Form: Narayana
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
The verse frames hunger and thirst as effects of elemental depletion—hunger when the earthy constituent is consumed by fire, and thirst when water is reduced—showing a law-like order linking cosmos and body.
He explains that human sensations arise from changes in the elemental constituents (earth, water, fire), implying that embodied life mirrors the broader elemental processes described in creation teachings.
Though not named in the verse, the teaching belongs to Vishnu Purana’s vision of a universe operating under a supreme, sustaining principle—Vishnu as the ultimate ground of order in which such cause-and-effect relations hold.