Shloka 37

लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्

Devanagari script

व्रीहिबीजे यथा मूलं नालं पत्राङ्कुरौ तथा काण्डकोषस् तथा पुष्पं क्षीरं तद्वच् च तण्डुलाः

Transliteration

vrīhibīje yathā mūlaṃ nālaṃ patrāṅkurau tathā kāṇḍakoṣas tathā puṣpaṃ kṣīraṃ tadvac ca taṇḍulāḥ

Translation

Just as, within a grain-seed of rice, there abides the root, the stalk, and the sprouting leaf; so too there lie within it the sheath of the stem and the flower, and even the milky essence—likewise, in potential, the very rice-grains themselves are already contained.

Word by Word

• व्रीहिबीजे: in the rice seed
• व्रीहिबीजे: Adhikaraṇa (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रीहि + बीज (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; “in the rice-seed”

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक

• मूलम्: root
• मूलम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “root”

• नालम्: stalk
• नालम्: Karta (Co-subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “stalk”

• पत्राङ्कुरौ: leaf and sprout
• पत्राङ्कुरौ: Karta (Co-subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्र + अङ्कुर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; “leaf and sprout”

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Correlative adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तुल्यतावाचक

• काण्डकोषः: stem and sheath
• काण्डकोषः: Karta (Co-subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काण्ड + कोष (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “stem and sheath/husk” (as a pair/collective)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Correlative adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तुल्यतावाचक

• पुष्पम्: flower
• पुष्पम्: Karta (Co-subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “flower”

• क्षीरम्: milk, sap
• क्षीरम्: Karta (Co-subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “milk/juice”

• तद्वत्: similarly
• तद्वत्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Comparative adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय; तद् + वत्)
• Form: अव्यय; तुल्यतावाचक (adverb: “similarly/in like manner”)

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

• तण्डुलाः: rice grains
• तण्डुलाः: Karta (Co-subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तण्डुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; “rice-grains”

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Latent potentiality: how complex effects pre-exist in subtle form within their causes

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: didactic

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: As a rice-seed contains the root, stalk, leaves, flower, and grain in potential, so effects are present in their causes in an unmanifest mode before expression.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Cultivate patience and faith in gradual spiritual maturation—qualities may be present latently and unfold with right conditions.

Vishishtadvaita: The unmanifest-to-manifest transition is real transformation at the level of prakṛti, while the supreme remains the governing ground.

FAQs

What is the significance of the rice-seed analogy in the Vishnu Purana?

It illustrates that complex, visible forms arise from subtle, latent potentials—creation unfolds in an ordered way from what is already contained in seed-form.

How does Sage Parāśara explain causality in this context?

By showing that effects (root, stalk, flower, grain) pre-exist in their cause (the seed) as potential, and become manifest through gradual transformation.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

The verse supports a worldview where ordered manifestation is governed by a supreme sustaining principle—understood in the Purana as Vishnu’s sovereign reality behind cosmic unfolding.