Shloka 44

नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्

Devanagari script

क्व नाकपृष्ठगमनं पुनरावृत्तिलक्षणम् क्व जपो वासुदेवेति मुक्तिबीजम् अनुत्तमम्

Transliteration

kva nākapṛṣṭhagamanaṃ punarāvṛttilakṣaṇam kva japo vāsudeveti muktibījam anuttamam

Translation

What comparison is there between going to heaven—whose very nature ends in return—and repeating the name “Vāsudeva”, the unsurpassed seed of liberation?

Word by Word

• क्व: where (indeed)?
• क्व: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: 'where?/what comparison?')

• नाक-पृष्ठ-गमनम्: going to heaven (the heavenly realm)
• नाक-पृष्ठ-गमनम्: Visheshya (Topic/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाक (प्रातिपदिक) + पृष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + गमन (प्रातिपदिक; √गम् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (नाकस्य पृष्ठम्; तत्र गमनम्)

• पुनरावृत्ति-लक्षणम्: characterized by return (rebirth)
• पुनरावृत्ति-लक्षणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुनरावृत्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पुनरावृत्तेः लक्षणम्); विशेषणम् (qualifying 'गमनम्')

• क्व: where (and where)?
• क्व: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय

• जपः: japa (repetition)
• जपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• वासुदेव: in Vāsudeva
• वासुदेव: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासुदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; इति-योगे 'वासुदेवे' इत्यर्थः (quoted form)

• इति: thus/‘as’
• इति: Sambandha (Quotative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/निगमन-चिह्न (quotative particle)

• मुक्ति-बीजम्: seed of liberation
• मुक्ति-बीजम्: Visheshya (Predicate nominal/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुक्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + बीज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुक्तेः बीजम्)

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed
• अनुत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying 'मुक्तिबीजम्')

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Contrast between svarga (punarāvṛtti) and Vāsudeva-japa as muktibīja

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Svarga is inherently marked by return to saṃsāra, whereas japa of ‘Vāsudeva’ is the unsurpassed seed that germinates into mokṣa.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Use nāma-japa daily as the core sādhanā, while treating pleasant experiences and ‘success’ as temporary and not the final aim.

Vishishtadvaita: Nāma and the named (Vāsudeva) are salvific; devotion is not merely auxiliary but the direct ‘seed’ of liberation.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Vasudeva

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva
• Heaven (Nāka/Svarga)
• Liberation (Mukti)

FAQs

What is the significance of heaven (svarga/nākapṛṣṭha) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse treats heaven as a karmic reward that is inherently temporary, because it is ‘marked by return’ (punarāvṛtti) once merit is exhausted.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the superior path to liberation here?

He contrasts transient heavenly ascent with japa of the name ‘Vāsudeva’, calling it the unsurpassed ‘seed of liberation’—a direct spiritual cause rather than a finite reward.

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

Vāsudeva is presented as the supreme focus whose remembrance and name-recitation lead beyond cyclic rebirth, aligning moksha with devotion to the highest reality rather than ritual merit alone.