Shloka 97

सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः

Devanagari script

सेयं धात्री विधात्री च सर्वभूतगुणाधिका आधारभूता सर्वेषां मैत्रेय जगताम् इति

Transliteration

seyaṃ dhātrī vidhātrī ca sarvabhūtaguṇādhikā ādhārabhūtā sarveṣāṃ maitreya jagatām iti

Translation

“This Power is indeed the Sustainer and the Ordainer; she surpasses all beings in excellence of qualities, and she stands as the very foundation of all worlds—so it is, O Maitreya.”

Word by Word

• सा: she/that
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इयम्: this
• इयम्: Apposition (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• धात्री: supporter/nurse
• धात्री: Predicate nominative (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धात्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• विधात्री: arranger/creator
• विधात्री: Predicate nominative (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधात्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• सर्वभूतगुणाधिका: surpassing all beings’ qualities
• सर्वभूतगुणाधिका: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + भूत + गुण + अधिक (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘सर्वेषां भूतानां गुणेभ्यः अधिका’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/तत्पुरुषसमासः

• आधारभूता: having become the support
• आधारभूता: Predicate adjective (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आधार + भूत (प्रातिपदिक; भूत = कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक from √भू)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूत (क्त) कृदन्तः; ‘आधारः भूता’ इति कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषार्थः (become the support)

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• मैत्रेय: O Maitreya
• मैत्रेय: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• जगताम्: of worlds/beings
• जगताम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• इति: thus
• इति: Quotation marker (इत्यर्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक अव्यय (quotative particle)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The sustaining principle behind the worlds and the status of the Earth/Power as support

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The sustaining and ordering power (dhātrī/vidhātrī) is superior in qualities and functions as the foundational support of all worlds.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice seeing the world as upheld by an inner governor, cultivating trust, ethical steadiness, and reverent responsibility toward the earth.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms a personal, governing ground of the universe: the Lord (as antaryāmin) supports and orders real worlds and beings, not an illusory cosmos.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi (earth)

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Dhātrī
• Vidhātrī

FAQs

What is the significance of Dhātrī and Vidhātrī in the Vishnu Purana?

They express the twin cosmic functions of upholding (dhāraṇa) and ordaining (vidhāna), describing the principle by which the universe is sustained and intelligently ordered.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the idea of a universal foundation (ādhāra) here?

He identifies an underlying sustaining reality that serves as the support of all worlds, indicating that the cosmos depends on a deeper sovereign principle rather than standing independently.

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

Even when described through sustaining and ordering powers, the Vishnu Purana’s cosmology ultimately points to supreme governance—classically grounded in Vishnu as the highest reality and support of the universe.