Shloka 63

Devanagari script

शाकस् तत्र महावृक्षः सिद्धगन्धर्वसेवितः यत्पत्रवातसंस्पर्शाद् आह्लादो जायते परः

Transliteration

śākas tatra mahāvṛkṣaḥ siddhagandharvasevitaḥ yatpatravātasaṃsparśād āhlādo jāyate paraḥ

Translation

There stands the mighty Śāka tree, attended and revered by Siddhas and Gandharvas; and from the mere touch of the breeze that has passed through its leaves, a surpassing gladness arises within the heart.

Word by Word

• शाकः: Śāka (a tree)
• शाकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; वृक्षनाम

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• महा-वृक्षः: a great tree
• महा-वृक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् वृक्षः)

• सिद्ध-गन्धर्व-सेवितः: served/visited by Siddhas and Gandharvas
• सिद्ध-गन्धर्व-सेवितः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सिद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + गन्धर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + सेवित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √सेव् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-पूर्वपद (सिद्धाश्च गन्धर्वाश्च) + तत्पुरुषः (तैः सेवितः); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle)

• यत्: whose
• यत्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (relative pronoun: whose)

• पत्र: leaf
• पत्र: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• वात: wind
• वात: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• संस्पर्शात्: from the contact
• संस्पर्शात्: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संस्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेतौ (from contact; as cause)

• आह्लादः: delight/refreshment
• आह्लादः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आह्लाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• जायते: arises/is born
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• परः: supreme/exceeding
• परः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas (regions)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Contact with sanctity (satsaṅga/puṇya-vāyu) naturally awakens inner gladness, hinting at the mind’s responsiveness to the sacred.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Seek environments and communities that elevate the mind—scripture, kīrtana, tīrtha, and sādhus—so joy arises without strain.

Vishishtadvaita: Joy is not self-generated illusion but a real affect arising when the jīva, a mode of Brahman, comes into harmony with divine auspiciousness.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Siddhas
• Gandharvas
• Śāka (tree)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Śāka tree in this verse of the Vishnu Purana?

It symbolizes a sanctified feature of sacred geography—so spiritually charged that even the breeze from its leaves generates extraordinary joy.

How does Sage Parāśara explain sacred geography to Maitreya here?

He describes specific marvels of the world’s regions—trees, beings, and atmospheres—showing how cosmic order includes places that naturally elevate consciousness.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s cosmology presents such harmonized, bliss-bestowing realms as expressions of the divinely governed universe upheld by the Supreme Reality, Vishnu.