Shloka 51

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

Devanagari script

विद्याविद्येति मैत्रेय ज्ञानम् एवोपधारय

Transliteration

vidyāvidyeti maitreya jñānam evopadhāraya

Translation

“As for what is called ‘vidyā’ and ‘avidyā,’ O Maitreya—understand that both are, in truth, nothing but modes of knowledge itself.”

Word by Word

• विद्या-अविद्या-इति: “knowledge and ignorance” (thus)
• विद्या-अविद्या-इति: Vacana/Quotation marker (इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विद्या (प्रातिपदिक) + अविद्या (प्रातिपदिक) + इति (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-प्रयोग (quotative particle); 'विद्या, अविद्या' इत्येवम् (उद्धरण/नामनिर्देश)

• मैत्रेय: O Maitreya
• मैत्रेय: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• ज्ञानम्: knowledge
• ज्ञानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• एव: alone; indeed
• एव: Emphasis (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• उपधारय: consider; hold in mind; understand
• उपधारय: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-धृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Clarification of vidyā and avidyā as they relate to knowledge, bondage, and liberation

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: compassionate

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Vidyā and avidyā are to be understood as modes/conditions of jñāna—knowledge functioning rightly or wrongly—rather than two independent substances.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Audit your ‘knowledge’: does it produce humility, compassion, and devotion (vidyā) or pride and attachment (avidyā)? Reorient through śāstra-study and sāttvika habits.

Vishishtadvaita: Supports the Viśiṣṭādvaita idea that ignorance is not a second absolute principle; it is a defect/conditioning in the jīva’s knowing, removable by the Lord’s grace and right knowledge.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of vidyā and avidyā in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames both “knowledge” and “ignorance” as conditions of cognition—implying spiritual progress depends on correcting and directing knowledge toward truth (ultimately Vishnu).

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of knowledge to Maitreya here?

Parāśara instructs Maitreya to see vidyā and avidyā not as separate substances but as ways knowledge functions—either revealing reality or obscuring it through misapprehension.

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

Within the Vishnu Purana’s Vaishnava metaphysics, right knowledge culminates in recognizing Vishnu as Supreme Reality; ignorance is knowledge turned away from that highest truth.