Shloka 79

Devanagari script

अधमोत्तमौ न तेष्व् आस्तां न वध्यवधकौ द्विज नेर्ष्यासूया भयं रोषो दोषो लोभादिको न च

Transliteration

adhamottamau na teṣv āstāṃ na vadhyavadhakau dvija nerṣyāsūyā bhayaṃ roṣo doṣo lobhādiko na ca

Translation

O twice-born one, among them there is no notion of ‘lower’ and ‘higher’; there are neither those to be slain nor slayers. Neither envy nor malice arises; fear and anger are absent; and no fault such as greed exists at all.

Word by Word

अधमोत्तमौthe low and the high (statuses)

नnot

तेषुamong them

आस्ताम्exist/are (let there be)

नnot

वध्यवधकौthe to-be-killed and the killer

द्विजO twice-born (brāhmaṇa)

नnot

ईर्ष्याenvy

असूयाmalice/carping

भयम्fear

रोषःanger

दोषःfault/vice

लोभादिकःgreed and the like

नnot

चand

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Moral-psychological condition of the people in those varṣas (absence of hierarchy, violence, passions)

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: didactic

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Where greed and other defects are absent, social hierarchy and violence do not arise, and fear/anger naturally subside.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Reduce greed and resentment through charity, contentment, and devotional discipline; nonviolence and social harmony follow as fruits.

Vishishtadvaita: Ethics is grounded in purification of the self (aṃśa of the Lord) rather than denial of embodiment—harmonizing inner disposition with divine order.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

Dvija (the addressed brahmin/disciple)

Maitreya (implicit listener)

Parāśara (narrator)

FAQs

What is the significance of a realm without ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse portrays perfected dharma: when inner faults and passions cease, social comparison (adhama/uttama) loses meaning, indicating a spiritually refined order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the absence of ‘slayer and slain’ here?

He describes a condition where violence and its causes—envy, fear, anger, and greed—do not arise; therefore the very roles of killer and killed are absent.

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

Such harmony is presented as consonant with Vishnu’s sustaining sovereignty: when beings align with the higher order upheld by Vishnu, disordering passions and conflict subside.