Shloka 92

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

Devanagari script

अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि यतीनाम् ऊर्ध्वरेतसाम् उदक्पन्थानम् अर्यम्णः श्रिता ह्य् आभूतसंप्लवात्

Transliteration

aṣṭāśītisahasrāṇi yatīnām ūrdhvaretasām udakpanthānam aryamṇaḥ śritā hy ābhūtasaṃplavāt

Translation

Eighty-eight thousand ascetics—yatis of uplifted seed, established in continence—have taken refuge in Aryaman’s northern path, and abide there until the cosmic deluge, the dissolution of beings.

Word by Word

• अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि: eighty-eight thousand
• अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टाशीति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम् (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Plural); द्विगुसमासः (numeral compound)

• यतीनाम्: of ascetics
• यतीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम् (Masculine, Genitive, Plural)

• ऊर्ध्वरेतसाम्: of those with upward-retained semen (celibate)
• ऊर्ध्वरेतसाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्व (प्रातिपदिक) + रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम् (Adjective used substantively: Masculine, Genitive, Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• उदक्पन्थानम्: the northward path
• उदक्पन्थानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदक् (अव्यय/दिक्शब्द) + पन्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (Masculine, Accusative, Singular); तत्पुरुषः (दिक्-विशेषणपूर्वक)

• अर्यम्णः: of Aryaman
• अर्यम्णः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्यमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (Masculine, Genitive, Singular)

• श्रिताः: (they) resorted to
• श्रिताः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रि (धातु) + त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; (क्रियापदवत्) ‘श्रिताः’ = having resorted/they resorted

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/हेतौ-बलार्थे) — particle (indeed/for)

• आभूतसंप्लवात्: until/from the cosmic dissolution
• आभूतसंप्लवात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आ (उपसर्ग) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + संप्लव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे पञ्चमी एकवचनम् (Masculine, Ablative, Singular); तत्पुरुषः (आ-भूत-संप्लव)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Through unwavering continence and yogic restraint, ascetics attain a celestial station on the ‘northern path’ and remain there until the cosmic inundation (ābhūta-saṃplava).

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Maintain disciplined ethical vows and meditative steadiness; contemplate impermanence even of heavenly states to deepen the aspiration for final liberation.

Vishishtadvaita: Even exalted stations within the Lord’s cosmos endure only up to pralaya; the highest ‘no-return’ goal ultimately implies dependence on Narayana beyond cosmic cycles.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Aryaman
• Yatis (ascetics)
• Cosmic deluge (pralaya)

FAQs

What is the significance of Aryaman’s northern path in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents it as a higher, northern celestial route associated with Aryaman, specifically attained by disciplined renunciants, where they remain until cosmic dissolution.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the destiny of ūrdhvaretas ascetics?

He states that such ascetics—marked by continence and upward-directed spiritual energy—enter the northern path and persist there through the long cosmic duration, up to pralaya.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the teaching sits within Vishnu Purana’s framework where all paths, worlds, and their endurance until pralaya operate under Vishnu’s supreme cosmic sovereignty.