Shloka 30

ऋभु–निदाघ-संवादः—अद्वैत-उपदेशः, समता, वासुदेव-स्वरूप-एकत्वम्

Devanagari script

यवगोधूममुद्गादि घृतं तैलं पयो दधि गुडं फलादीनि तथा पार्थिवाः परमाणवः

Transliteration

yavagodhūmamudgādi ghṛtaṃ tailaṃ payo dadhi guḍaṃ phalādīni tathā pārthivāḥ paramāṇavaḥ

Translation

Barley, wheat, and pulses such as green gram; ghee and oil; milk and curd; jaggery; fruits and the rest—these, and likewise the minute earthly atoms, are counted among the products and constituents of the terrestrial principle.

Word by Word

• यव-गोधूम-मुद्ग-आदि: barley, wheat, mung, etc.
• यव-गोधूम-मुद्ग-आदि: Karta (Subject/Enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यव + गोधूम + मुद्ग + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (समाहार-द्वन्द्व); 'etc.' included by आदि

• घृतम्: ghee
• घृतम्: Karta (Enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• तैलम्: oil
• तैलम्: Karta (Enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तैल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• पयः: milk
• पयः: Karta (Enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• दधि: curd/yogurt
• दधि: Karta (Enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• गुडम्: jaggery
• गुडम्: Karta (Enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• फलादीनि: fruits and the like
• फलादीनि: Karta (Enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; 'fruits and the like' (आदि-प्रयोग)

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/प्रकारार्थक-अव्यय (and likewise)

• पार्थिवाः: earthly
• पार्थिवाः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पार्थिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; adjective qualifying परमाणवः

• परमाणवः: atoms/particles
• परमाणवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परमाणु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Classification of foods and bodily constituents as products of the earth-element, reinforcing elemental ontology.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: cataloguing, explanatory

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even refined foods and nourishing substances are ultimately transformations of the earth-principle, so bodily sustenance does not confer lasting fulfillment.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Practice mindful eating with awareness of elemental origin to reduce attachment and cultivate gratitude and restraint.

Vishishtadvaita: Material nature is real yet dependent (paratantra); recognizing its sourcedness supports offering (arpana) to Vishnu rather than possessiveness.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of listing foods and substances in the Vishnu Purana?

The verse classifies common tangible items as expressions of the earth-principle (pārthiva), showing how the cosmos is ordered into elemental categories within creation (sarga).

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of paramāṇu (atom) here?

He includes “pārthivaḥ paramāṇavaḥ”—earthly atoms—as fundamental minute constituents, indicating that gross substances ultimately rest on subtle particulate principles.

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

Even while describing material categories, the Purāṇic framework treats such order as grounded in the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—who governs and sustains prakṛti and its elemental manifestations.