Shloka 22

ऋभु-निदाघ-संवादः — अधः-ऊर्ध्व-दृष्टान्तेन अद्वैतबोधः (राजा-गज-उपमा) तथा मोक्षफलश्रुति

Devanagari script

सितनीलादिभेदेन यथैकं दृश्यते नभः भ्रान्तदृष्टिभिर् आत्मापि तथैकः सन् पृथक् पृथक्

Transliteration

sitanīlādibhedena yathaikaṃ dṛśyate nabhaḥ bhrāntadṛṣṭibhir ātmāpi tathaikaḥ san pṛthak pṛthak

Translation

Just as the one sky is seen as divided—white, blue, and the like—by eyes deluded by appearance, so too the Self, though truly One, is perceived again and again as though separate and many.

Word by Word

• सितनीलादिभेदेन: by the distinction of white, blue, etc.
• सितनीलादिभेदेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sita + nīla + ādi + bheda (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः: सित-नील-आदि-भेदः (वर्णभेदः) तेन

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Upamana-bodhaka (Comparative marker/उपमानसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमान/सम्बन्धबोधक): ‘as/just as’

• एकम्: one (single)
• एकम्: Karta-anvayi Visheshana (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र ‘नभः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (प्रथमा)

• दृश्यते: is seen, appears
• दृश्यते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive): ‘is seen’

• नभः: the sky
• नभः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• भ्रान्तदृष्टिभिः: by deluded perceptions
• भ्रान्तदृष्टिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhrānta + dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: भ्रान्ता दृष्टिः यस्याः/येषां तैः

• आत्मा: the Self
• आत्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/सम्बन्धसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): ‘also’

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण): ‘so/likewise’

• एकः: one
• एकः: Karta-anvayi Visheshana (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘आत्मा’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• सन्: being
• सन्: Karta-sahakari (Concomitant participle/कर्तृसहकारी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘being’

• पृथक्: separately
• पृथक्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pṛthak (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण): ‘separately’

• पृथक्: separately (again; emphasis)
• पृथक्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pṛthak (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पुनरुक्ति/emphatic repetition)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Self is one, but appears many due to mistaken perception—like the single sky seeming variously colored or divided.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Notice how labels and appearances fragment experience; return to the underlying continuity through meditation and viveka.

Vishishtadvaita: Apparent plurality is a cognition-level distortion; unity is grounded in the one divine reality that supports all attributes and modes.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Atman (Self)

FAQs

What is the significance of the sky-color analogy in the Vishnu Purana?

It illustrates that plurality is a perception-based distinction: the sky is one, yet appears varied; likewise the Self is one, yet seems many due to deluded vision.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the One Self appearing as many?

He attributes multiplicity to bhrānta-dṛṣṭi (confused perception): the Atman remains one in truth, but is misconstrued as separate in repeated, varied forms.

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

The verse supports the Purana’s view that a single supreme principle underlies the cosmos; in Vaishnava reading, this unity ultimately rests in Vishnu as the highest reality behind apparent diversity.