Shloka 97

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

Devanagari script

यावन्मात्रप्रदेशे तु मैत्रेयावस्थितो ध्रुवः क्षयम् आयाति तावत् तु भूमेर् आभूतसंप्लवे

Transliteration

yāvanmātrapradeśe tu maitreyāvasthito dhruvaḥ kṣayam āyāti tāvat tu bhūmer ābhūtasaṃplave

Translation

O Maitreya, for as long as Dhruva remains unmoving within that measured sphere, for that very span the Earth endures—until the bhūta-samplava, the Mahāpralaya, comes.

Word by Word

• यावत्-मात्र-प्रदेशे: in a region of only such extent (limited area)
• यावत्-मात्र-प्रदेशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यावत् + मात्र + प्रदेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (यावत्-मात्रः प्रदेशः)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (contrast/emphasis)

• मैत्रेय: O Maitreya
• मैत्रेय: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• अवस्थितः: situated/remaining
• अवस्थितः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव + स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (स्थित/remaining)

• ध्रुवः: Dhruva (the Pole Star/person Dhruva)
• ध्रुवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• क्षयम्: destruction/end
• क्षयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• आयाति: reaches/comes to
• आयाति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तावत्: so long/that long
• तावत्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक (correlative: so long/that much)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• भूमेः: of the earth
• भूमेः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• आभूतसंप्लवे: at the cosmic dissolution
• आभूतसंप्लवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आ + भूत + संप्लव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (आभूतः संप्लवः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How long the Earth endures in relation to Dhruva’s station and the coming of the great dissolution

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The stability of the world is portrayed as upheld by a divinely fixed cosmic order, symbolized by Dhruva’s enduring station until the final inundation.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate ‘dhruva’ steadiness—regular practice and ethical constancy—amid changing circumstances, remembering that even worlds have limits.

Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic stability is not autonomous; it rests on an ordered arrangement ultimately dependent on the Lord’s governance.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Dhruva
• Earth (Bhūmi)

FAQs

What is the significance of Dhruva in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents Dhruva as a fixed cosmic anchor: as long as he remains established in his ordained station, the Earth’s continuity is maintained until the eventual dissolution (bhūta-saṃplava).

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic stability and dissolution here?

Parāśara links stability to an appointed cosmic order (Dhruva’s station) and sets a clear boundary: the world persists only up to the time of pralaya, when the dissolution of beings overtakes the Earth.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the teaching reflects Vaishnava cosmology: the ordered universe—its supports, measures, and end in pralaya—operates under the Supreme Lord’s governance.