Shloka 34

लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्

Devanagari script

एवम् अव्याकृतात् पूर्वं जायन्ते महदादयः विशेषान्तास् ततस् तेभ्यः संभवन्ति सुरादयः तेभ्यश् च पुत्रास् तेषां च पुत्राणाम् अपरे सुताः

Transliteration

evam avyākṛtāt pūrvaṃ jāyante mahadādayaḥ viśeṣāntās tatas tebhyaḥ saṃbhavanti surādayaḥ tebhyaś ca putrās teṣāṃ ca putrāṇām apare sutāḥ

Translation

Thus, from the Unmanifest (avyākṛta) first arise the principles beginning with Mahat, culminating in the particularized elements (viśeṣas). From these, in due order, come forth the gods and other classes of beings; from them are born sons, and from those sons again are born further descendants—line upon line of progeny.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner: “thus”)

• अव्याकृतात्: from the unmanifest
• अव्याकृतात्: Apādāna (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अव्याकृत (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-विशेषण from √कृ + वि + आ, with negation a-)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; “from the unmanifest/undeveloped (state)”

• पूर्वम्: before, formerly
• पूर्वम्: Kālādhi-kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb: “formerly/before”)

• जायन्ते: arise, are born
• जायन्ते: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; “are born/arise”

• महदादयः: Mahat etc. (the great principle and others)
• महदादयः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् + आदि (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; महत्-आदयः = “Mahat and the rest (principles)”

• विशेषान्ताः: ending in the particulars
• विशेषान्ताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विशेष + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; “ending in/culminating in particulars (viśeṣa)”—qualifies महदादयः

• ततः: thereupon, from that
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial: sequence/source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय; तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/ततः = “thereupon/from that” (sequence/source marker)

• तेभ्यः: from them
• तेभ्यः: Apādāna (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (सामान्यतः), पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), बहुवचन; “from them”

• संभवन्ति: originate
• संभवन्ति: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + √भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; “come into being/originate”

• सुरादयः: the gods etc.
• सुरादयः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर + आदि (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; “gods and others”

• तेभ्यः: from them
• तेभ्यः: Apādāna (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), बहुवचन; “from them”

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction: “and”)

• पुत्राः: sons, offspring
• पुत्राः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; “sons/offspring”

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; “of them”

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• पुत्राणाम्: of the sons
• पुत्राणाम्: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; “of (their) sons”

• अपरे: others, further
• अपरे: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; “other/further”—qualifies सुताः

• सुताः: sons, offspring
• सुताः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; “sons/offspring”

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Orderly emergence of tattvas and beings from the unmanifest (avyākṛta), and the continuity of progeny

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: From the unmanifest arise Mahat and the subsequent principles, from which gods and all beings proceed in a continuous generative succession.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Contemplate causality and interdependence to reduce egoic absolutism about one’s own origin and status.

Vishishtadvaita: Jagat is a real, ordered manifestation dependent on the supreme cause, not a mere illusion.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Avyākṛta (Prakṛti)
• Viśeṣas
• Suras (Devas)

FAQs

What is the significance of Avyākṛta (the Unmanifest) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents Avyākṛta as the primordial undifferentiated source from which the cosmic principles (like Mahat) arise, establishing an ordered framework for creation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the chain of creation in this passage?

He outlines a sequence: from the Unmanifest emerge Mahat and subsequent principles up to the viśeṣas; from these arise the gods and other beings, followed by successive generations of offspring.

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

Though not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s cosmology treats this ordered emergence as operating under Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty—creation unfolds as a structured manifestation grounded in the Highest Reality.