Shloka 96

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

Devanagari script

ब्रह्महत्याश्वमेधाभ्यां पापपुण्यकृतो विधिः आभूतसंप्लवान्तान्तं फलम् उक्तं तयोर् द्विज

Transliteration

brahmahatyāśvamedhābhyāṃ pāpapuṇyakṛto vidhiḥ ābhūtasaṃplavāntāntaṃ phalam uktaṃ tayor dvija

Translation

O twice-born one, by invoking the two extremes—the sin of brahma-slaughter and the merit of the Aśvamedha—the ordinance concerning deeds that beget demerit and merit has been taught; and it is declared that the fruit of both endures until the great dissolution, the final bhūta-samplava.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्महत्या: the killing of a Brahmin (brahma-slaughter)
• ब्रह्महत्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः हत्या)

• अश्वमेधाभ्याम्: by/with (the rite of) the Aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice)
• अश्वमेधाभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), द्विवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अश्वस्य मेधः)

• पापपुण्यकृतः: one who performs sin and merit
• पापपुण्यकृतः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप + पुण्य + कृत (कृ धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्तः; समासः इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (पापं च पुण्यं च) + कृत (कर्तृवाचक)

• विधिः: the rule/ordinance
• विधिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• आभूतसंप्लव-अन्त-अन्तम्: extending up to the end of the cosmic dissolution
• आभूतसंप्लव-अन्त-अन्तम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + भूत + संप्लव + अन्त + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (आभूतसंप्लवस्य अन्तः) + अन्त (अन्तपर्यन्तम्)

• फलम्: the result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• उक्तम्: is said/declared
• उक्तम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः—‘said/declared’ (agreeing with फलम्)

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• द्विज: O twice-born (brahmin)
• द्विज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Karmic extremes (brahmahatyā and aśvamedha) and the duration of their फल (fruit) up to the cosmic deluge

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Merit and demerit operate under a fixed moral law whose results persist across vast cosmic timescales, even up to the final dissolution of beings.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Weigh actions by their long-term ethical consequences and cultivate restraint, avoiding grave harms while pursuing purifying duties without attachment.

Vishishtadvaita: Karmic governance is part of the Lord’s ordered cosmos, where moral causality functions within His sustaining sovereignty.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Characters & Entities

• Brahmahatya
• Ashvamedha
• Dvija (Brahmin)

FAQs

What is the significance of brahmahatyā and aśvamedha in this Vishnu Purana verse?

They function as illustrative extremes—one of gravest demerit and one of highest ritual merit—so the text can summarize the governing principle of karma by reference to its endpoints.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the duration of karmic results here?

He states that the fruits of such actions persist through long spans of time, described as lasting up to the cosmic dissolution (bhūta-saṃplava), emphasizing the vast temporal reach of karmic law.

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

Even when not named directly, the teaching presumes a cosmos ordered under a supreme sovereign principle—classically Vishnu in the Purana—within which dharma and karma operate reliably across yugas and up to pralaya.