Shloka 110

सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्

Devanagari script

ततः सप्तर्षयो यस्याः प्राणायामपरायणाः तिष्ठन्ति वीचिमालाभिर् उह्यमानजटाजले

Transliteration

tataḥ saptarṣayo yasyāḥ prāṇāyāmaparāyaṇāḥ tiṣṭhanti vīcimālābhir uhyamānajaṭājale

Translation

Thereafter, within that sacred stream, the Seven Ṛṣis—devoted to prāṇāyāma—abide in yogic steadiness, borne amid garlands of waves within the flowing jaṭā-jala.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter/from there
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/ततः (adverb: thereafter/from there)

• सप्तर्षयः: the seven sages
• सप्तर्षयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त-ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास (numeral compound)

• यस्याः: of whom/whose
• यस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative) referring to Gaṅgā

• प्राणायामपरायणाः: devoted to prāṇāyāma
• प्राणायामपरायणाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राणायाम-परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; 'प्राणायामे परायणाः' = devoted to breath-control

• तिष्ठन्ति: stand/remain
• तिष्ठन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• वीचिमालाभिः: by/with rows of waves
• वीचिमालाभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीचि-माला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; 'वीचीनां माला' = garlands/rows of waves

• उह्यमानजटाजले: in the water of (Śiva’s) matted locks being carried along
• उह्यमानजटाजले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उह्यमान-जटा-जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; 'उह्यमानं जटाजलं यस्मिन्' = in the water of matted locks being borne along; 'उह्यमान' = कृदन्त (शानच्) used within compound

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The Seven Ṛṣis abiding in Gaṅgā’s flow, steadfast in prāṇāyāma

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Saptarṣis remain established in yogic steadiness, devoted to prāṇāyāma, while borne amid Gaṅgā’s wave-garlands.

Vedantic Theme: Atman

Application: Practice regulated breath and meditative steadiness, learning to maintain inner poise amid life’s ‘waves’.

Vishishtadvaita: Yoga is situated within a sacred, Bhagavān-connected cosmos—discipline unfolds in dependence on divine order rather than isolated self-power.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Saptarishi (Seven Sages)
• Ganga (implied)
• Shiva (implied by jaṭā imagery)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Saptarishis being described as prāṇāyāma-parāyaṇāḥ in the Vishnu Purana?

It presents the Saptarishis as archetypal yogins whose steadiness and breath-discipline mirror cosmic stability, linking sacred geography with inner yogic order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the river’s movement through ‘vīcimālā’ (garlands of waves)?

He uses poetic cosmological imagery: the river is not merely flowing, but ceremonially ‘carried’ amid patterned wave-chains, emphasizing a divinely ordered course rather than random motion.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s cosmography is framed as part of Vishnu’s sovereign ordering of the universe—where rivers, sages, and yogic disciplines function within His sustaining cosmic law.