Shloka 17

शिशुमार-रूपं, ध्रुवबन्धनम्, वृष्टिचक्र-पालनम्, नारायणाधारत्वम्

Devanagari script

उभयं पुण्यम् अत्यर्थं नृणां पापहरं द्विज आकाशगङ्गासलिलं दिव्यं स्नानं महामुने

Transliteration

ubhayaṃ puṇyam atyarthaṃ nṛṇāṃ pāpaharaṃ dvija ākāśagaṅgāsalilaṃ divyaṃ snānaṃ mahāmune

Translation

O twice-born one, both are supremely meritorious and remove the sins of human beings: the sacred water of the heavenly Gaṅgā, and the divine act of bathing therein, O great sage.

Word by Word

• उभयम्: both (kinds)
• उभयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उभय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• पुण्यम्: meritorious
• पुण्यम्: Predicate (Vidheyavisheshana/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् (ubhayaṃ)

• अत्यर्थम्: exceedingly
• अत्यर्थम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्यर्थम् (अव्यय/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (intensifier)

• नृणाम्: of men
• नृणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• पापहरम्: sin-removing
• पापहरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप + हर (√हृ, णिनि/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—पाप-हर (पापं हरति इति)

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

• आकाशगङ्गासलिलम्: the water of the celestial Gaṅgā (Milky Way)
• आकाशगङ्गासलिलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश + गङ्गा + सलिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—आकाश-गङ्गा-सलिल (आकाशगङ्गायाः सलिलम्)

• दिव्यम्: divine
• दिव्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (स्नानम्)

• स्नानम्: bathing
• स्नानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• महामुने: O great sage
• महामुने: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; समासः—महान् मुनिः

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya in the frame dialogue; the verse itself addresses a 'dvija')

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Merit (puṇya) and sin-removal associated with the ‘sky-Gaṅgā’ rain and bathing

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: compassionate

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Contact with sacred water and the intentioned act of bathing are taught as powerful means of pāpa-kṣaya (sin attenuation) through sanctified association.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Pair outer acts (ritual purity, pilgrimage, bathing) with inner recollection of the Lord to transform practice into devotion.

Vishishtadvaita: Material means (water, action) can mediate grace and purification because the world is a real locus of divine presence and sacred potency.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Characters & Entities

• Akasha-Ganga (celestial Ganga)
• Dvija (twice-born)

FAQs

What is the significance of Akasha-Ganga (the celestial Ganga) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse treats Akasha-Ganga’s water as intrinsically holy and powerfully sin-destroying, highlighting the Purana’s sacred-geography theme that cosmic rivers function as channels of purification.

How does Sage Parashara explain purification through sacred waters?

In the Book 2 sacred-geography context, Parashara emphasizes that both the sanctified substance (the tirtha water) and the prescribed act (ritual bathing) jointly confer merit and remove sin.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named, the Vishnu Purana frames sacred rivers and dharmic rites as part of the divinely ordered cosmos ultimately grounded in Vishnu’s sovereignty as the Supreme Reality sustaining purity, order, and liberation.