Shloka 32
लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्
यथा च पादपो मूलस्कन्धशाखादिसंयुतः आदिबीजात् प्रभवति बीजान्य् अन्यानि वै ततः
yathā ca pādapo mūlaskandhaśākhādisaṃyutaḥ ādibījāt prabhavati bījāny anyāni vai tataḥ
Just as a tree—endowed with root, trunk, branches, and the rest—arises from an original seed, so too from that (tree) other seeds surely come forth again.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Explaining cyclic causality and reproduction through the seed–tree analogy
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: Manifestation proceeds cyclically: from an original causal ‘seed’ arises an articulated effect (like a tree with root and branches), which in turn generates further seeds, continuing the causal stream.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Reflect on cause-and-effect in habits and actions; plant ‘seeds’ (saṃskāras) aligned with dharma and devotion to shape future outcomes.
Vishishtadvaita: Suggests a real transformation of dependent prakṛti under divine governance (not mere illusion), consistent with a world that is real yet contingent on the Lord.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
It illustrates cyclical creation: an original cause produces a complex world, and that world in turn generates further causes—supporting recurring sarga (creation) and pratisarga (re-creation).
By showing that what begins from a single seed develops into an organized whole (root, trunk, branches) and then produces new seeds, he frames creation as a self-propagating, recurrent process within cosmic order.
Though not named in this single verse, the surrounding teaching in the Vishnu Purana treats the Supreme Reality (Vishnu) as the ultimate ground of causality—within whom cycles of origination and regeneration are sustained.