Shloka 111

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

Devanagari script

वार्योघैः संततैर् यस्याः प्लावितं शशिमण्डलम् भूयो ऽधिकतरां कान्तिं वहत्य् एतद् उपक्षयम्

Transliteration

vāryoghaiḥ saṃtatair yasyāḥ plāvitaṃ śaśimaṇḍalam bhūyo 'dhikatarāṃ kāntiṃ vahaty etad upakṣayam

Translation

When her lunar orb is ceaselessly flooded by unbroken streams of water, it thereafter bears an even greater radiance—this is called upakṣaya, the waning.

Word by Word

• वार्योघैः: by streams of water
• वार्योघैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारि (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; वारिणाम् ओघाः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• संततैः: continuous, unbroken
• संततैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संतत (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भाव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (वार्योघैः)

• यस्याः: of whom/whose
• यस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रयोगः

• प्लावितम्: flooded, inundated
• प्लावितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्लु (धातु) → प्लावित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्तं कर्मणि-भावे; विशेषणम् (शशिमण्डलम्)

• शशिमण्डलम्: the moon’s orb
• शशिमण्डलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शशि (प्रातिपदिक) + मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; शशेः मण्डलम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• भूयः: again; further
• भूयः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूयस् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषणम् (पुनः/अधिकम्)

• अधिकतराम्: greater, more
• अधिकतराम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिकतर (प्रातिपदिक; तर्अ-तमत्-भाव)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कान्तिम्)

• कान्तिम्: splendour, radiance
• कान्तिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कान्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• वहति: carries; bears; has
• वहति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (उपक्षयम्)

• उपक्षयम्: waning; diminution
• उपक्षयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपक्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Sacred geography and the descent/course of the celestial Gaṅgā; explanation of lunar waxing/waning and the river’s cosmological mechanics

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic processes operate by ordered, intelligible cycles—here, the Moon’s ‘waning’ is explained through the purāṇic model of celestial waters affecting lunar radiance.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Contemplate natural cycles (waxing/waning, increase/decrease) as lawful rhythms that cultivate steadiness and reverence rather than anxiety.

Vishishtadvaita: Implicitly supports a governed cosmos (niyati) under the supreme Lord’s ordinance, where even celestial change is purposeful and ordered.

Characters & Entities

• Moon (Śaśin/Candra)
• Water (Vāri)

FAQs

What is the significance of upakṣaya (waning) in the Vishnu Purana?

It marks the Moon’s diminishing phase as part of the cosmic time-cycle, explained through the image of the lunar orb being inundated by continuous streams, reinforcing that celestial changes follow a fixed universal order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the Moon’s changing appearance?

He presents a Purāṇic causal account: the Moon’s disc is affected by ongoing flows (vāryogha), and this process is identified as upakṣaya—one of the structured phases governing the lunar cycle.

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

Even when the verse discusses astronomy, the Vishnu Purana frames such cycles as operating within a divinely sustained order—time and the heavens function coherently because the Supreme Reality (Vishnu) upholds the cosmos.