Shloka 28

Devanagari script

योनी तोया वितृष्णा च चन्द्रा शुक्ला विमोचनी निवृत्तिः सप्तमी तासां स्मृतास् ताः पापशान्तिदाः

Transliteration

yonī toyā vitṛṣṇā ca candrā śuklā vimocanī nivṛttiḥ saptamī tāsāṃ smṛtās tāḥ pāpaśāntidāḥ

Translation

They are remembered as seven rivers: Yonī, Toyā, Vitṛṣṇā, Candrā, Śuklā, Vimocanī, and the seventh, Nivṛtti—sacred waters said to pacify sin.

Word by Word

• योनी: Yonī (name)
• योनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तोया: Toyā (name)
• तोया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• वितृष्णा: Vitṛṣṇā (name)
• वितृष्णा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वितृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

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

• चन्द्रा: Candrā (name)
• चन्द्रा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• शुक्ला: Śuklā (name)
• शुक्ला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्ल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• विमोचनी: Vimocanī (name; 'liberator')
• विमोचनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वि + मुच् (धातु) + अनिन्/नी (कृत्-प्रत्यय; प्रातिपदिक विमोचनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कृतान्त-नाम (agent noun: 'releaser')

• निवृत्तिः: Nivṛtti (name; 'cessation/return')
• निवृत्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नि + वृत् (धातु) + क्तिन् (कृत्; प्रातिपदिक निवृत्ति)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्तिन्-प्रत्ययान्त भाववाचक

• सप्तमी: the seventh
• सप्तमी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण

• तासाम्: of them
• तासाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• स्मृताः: are said/remembered (as)
• स्मृताः: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया-विशेष)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृत्; प्रातिपदिक स्मृत)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (ताः इत्यन्वयः)

• ताः: those (rivers)
• ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• पापशान्तिदाः: givers of the pacification of sin
• पापशान्तिदाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + शान्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-आधार)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पापस्य शान्तिं ददाति इति)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Names of the rivers of Śālmaladvīpa and their purificatory character.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: purificatory, instructive

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas (continents)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Contact with sacred waters—remembered and revered—functions as a means of inner purification by calming the residues of wrongdoing.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Use tīrtha-smaraṇa (recollection of sacredness) and regular acts of cleansing—bathing, japa, and ethical restraint—as supports for repentance and renewed discipline.

Vishishtadvaita: Purification is not mere self-effort but participation in a divinely ordered cosmos where sanctified elements aid the jīva’s return to purity under the Lord’s governance.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Bhakti Type: Shanta (peaceful)

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Sacred rivers (tīrtha waters)

FAQs

What is the significance of naming these seven waters in the Vishnu Purana?

The verse preserves a canonical list of seven sacred waters whose remembrance and ritual association are said to pacify sin, reinforcing tīrtha as a dharmic means of purification.

How does Sage Parāśara explain purification in this context?

Parāśara presents tīrtha-waters as morally and spiritually restorative—able to quiet the effects of pāpa—within his broader instruction to Maitreya on sacred geography and righteous conduct.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Even when discussing rivers and tīrthas, the Purana’s framework treats purification as supportive of returning to dharma and devotion—preparing the mind for steadiness in Vishnu, the supreme sustaining reality.