Shloka 42

लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्

Devanagari script

स एव मूलप्रकृतिर् व्यक्तरूपी जगच् च सः तस्मिन्न् एव लयं सर्वं याति तत्र च तिष्ठति

Transliteration

sa eva mūlaprakṛtir vyaktarūpī jagac ca saḥ tasminn eva layaṃ sarvaṃ yāti tatra ca tiṣṭhati

Translation

He alone is the root Nature (mūla-prakṛti); He alone is the universe in its manifest form. Into Him, indeed, all things pass at dissolution, and in Him they remain established.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एव: indeed, alone
• एव: Emphasis (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle; emphasis)

• मूल-प्रकृतिः: the root-nature (primordial prakṛti)
• मूल-प्रकृतिः: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūla (प्रातिपदिक) + prakṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (मूला प्रकृतिः)

• व्यक्त-रूपी: having manifest form
• व्यक्त-रूपी: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyakta (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (सः); समासः (व्यक्तं रूपं यस्य) बहुव्रीह्यर्थे प्रयोगः, रूपेण तत्पुरुष-निर्माणः

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/and)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (पुनरुक्ति-बलार्थ)

• तस्मिन्: in him/therein
• तस्मिन्: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एव: indeed
• एव: Emphasis (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात; emphasis)

• लयम्: dissolution
• लयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: laya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• याति: goes, enters
• याति: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa-bodhaka (Locative indicator/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/locative adverb: there)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/and)

• तिष्ठति: stands, remains
• तिष्ठति: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How Viṣṇu relates to prakṛti and the manifest cosmos, and how all returns and abides in Him

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Viṣṇu is identified as mūla-prakṛti and also as the manifest universe; all entities dissolve into Him and remain established in Him.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Hold a theistic cosmology while engaging the world: treat nature and life as sacred dependents of God, fostering responsibility and reverence.

Vishishtadvaita: Prakṛti is not independent: it is a mode under Brahman’s lordship; the world is real, yet wholly dependent and contained in Viṣṇu.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Jagat (Universe)
• Pralaya (Dissolution)

FAQs

What is the significance of mūlaprakṛti in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse identifies the ultimate ground of prakṛti itself with the Supreme, teaching that even primordial nature is not independent but rooted in Vishnu.

How does Sage Parāśara explain dissolution (pralaya) here?

He states that at pralaya all entities merge back into the Supreme and continue to abide in Him, emphasizing preservation of order through re-absorption.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Vishnu is presented as the all-encompassing Supreme Reality—both the source and the manifest cosmos—into whom everything resolves and by whom everything is sustained.