Shloka 10

लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्

Devanagari script

ऋषिभ्यस् तु सहस्राणां शताद् ऊर्ध्वं व्यवस्थितः मेढीभूतः समस्तस्य ज्योतिश्चक्रस्य वै ध्रुवः

Transliteration

ṛṣibhyas tu sahasrāṇāṃ śatād ūrdhvaṃ vyavasthitaḥ meḍhībhūtaḥ samastasya jyotiścakrasya vai dhruvaḥ

Translation

Above the realm of the sages—by a hundred thousand (yojanas)—stands Dhruva, fixed in his station; having become the cosmic pivot, he is indeed the axle-pin for the entire revolving wheel of the lights (stars and planets).

Word by Word

• ऋषिभ्यः: from the sages (Saptarṣis)
• ऋषिभ्यः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; contrast/emphasis)

• सहस्राणाम्: of thousands
• सहस्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• शतात्: from a hundred
• शतात्: Apadana (Source/starting point/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• ऊर्ध्वम्: above
• ऊर्ध्वम्: Desha/Direction (दिशा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ऊर्ध्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• व्यवस्थितः: is stationed
• व्यवस्थितः: Karta (Predicate of subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + अव + स्था (धातु) → व्यवस्थित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; स्थित्यर्थे (being stationed)

• मेढीभूतः: having become the pivot (axle-pin)
• मेढीभूतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मेढी (प्रातिपदिक) + भू (धातु) → मेढीभूत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier of ध्रुवः)

• समस्तस्य: of the entire
• समस्तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier of ज्योतिश्चक्रस्य)

• ज्योतिश्चक्रस्य: of the wheel of lights (celestial sphere)
• ज्योतिश्चक्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्योतिस् + चक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• ध्रुवः: Dhruva (Pole Star)
• ध्रुवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya in the cosmology section)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The fixed station of Dhruva and his function as the pivot of the stellar/planetary wheel

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic motion is intelligible through a stable axis—Dhruva—around which the jyotiṣ-cakra is conceived to revolve.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate inner steadiness (dhruvatā) so that changing circumstances can ‘revolve’ without destabilizing one’s dharma.

Vishishtadvaita: The cosmos is an ordered system with functional stations, implying governance rather than randomness—compatible with a world upheld by the Lord’s niyati (ordering will).

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Dhruva
• Rishis (Sages)
• Jyoti-chakra (celestial sphere/luminaries)

FAQs

What is the significance of Dhruva in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents Dhruva as the fixed cosmic pivot—the stable point around which the entire system of luminaries is understood to revolve, symbolizing divinely maintained universal order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the structure of the heavens here?

Parāśara describes a vertical hierarchy of realms and then identifies Dhruva’s station above the sages, portraying him as the axis-pin that stabilizes and organizes the celestial revolutions.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s cosmology is framed as an ordered universe sustained by supreme governance—Dhruva’s fixedness functions as a sign of that higher, preserving sovereignty.