Shloka 15

लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्

Devanagari script

षड्गुणेन तपोलोकात् सत्यलोको विराजते अपुनर्मारका यत्र ब्रह्मलोको हि स स्मृतः

Transliteration

ṣaḍguṇena tapolokāt satyaloko virājate apunarmārakā yatra brahmaloko hi sa smṛtaḥ

Translation

Beyond Tapoloka, shining with sixfold excellence, stands Satyaloka. There death does not return again; therefore that realm is remembered as Brahmaloka.

Word by Word

• ṣaḍguṇena: by sixfold (measure)
• ṣaḍguṇena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण (instrumental: by/with sixfold measure)

• tapolokāt: from Tapoloka
• tapolokāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapoloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; अपादान

• satyalokaḥ: Satyaloka
• satyalokaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satyaloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

• virājate: shines / is resplendent
• virājate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rāj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; ‘विराजते’ = shines/is splendid/stands forth

• apunarmārakāḥ: not subject to death again
• apunarmārakāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (निषेध) + punar (अव्यय) + māraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण; ‘पुनर्मारकाः न’ = not subject to (re-)death

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (where)

• brahmalokaḥ: Brahmaloka
• brahmalokaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmaloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता/विषय

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: indeed/for)

• saḥ: that (world)
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; कर्ता/विषय

• smṛtaḥ: is called
• smṛtaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) → smṛta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स स्मृतः’ = is called/known

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The higher lokas beyond Tapoloka and the nature of Satyaloka/Brahmaloka

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Satyaloka is portrayed as the summit of conditioned cosmic existence, marked by extraordinary longevity and freedom from recurrent death.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Reflect on even the highest cosmic attainments as finite, and orient practice toward mokṣa beyond loka-attainment.

Vishishtadvaita: Distinguishes exalted loka-life from final liberation, aligning with Viśiṣṭādvaita: real worlds exist, yet mokṣa is a higher, personal communion with the Supreme beyond Brahmaloka.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Satyaloka
• Tapoloka
• Brahmaloka

FAQs

What is the significance of Satyaloka/Brahmaloka in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse identifies Satyaloka as the resplendent highest realm beyond Tapoloka, also called Brahmaloka, characterized by the absence of recurring death.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the idea of “no return of death” (apunarmārakā)?

He presents it as a defining feature of Brahmaloka/Satyaloka: unlike lower realms, beings there are not subject to repeated mortal dissolution in the ordinary cycle.

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

Even while describing Brahmā’s highest realm, the Purāṇa’s cosmology ultimately frames all lokas as ordered within Vishnu’s sovereign reality, with higher realms indicating proximity to liberation rather than independent supremacy.