Shloka 33

Devanagari script

देवासुरास् तथा यक्षा नागा गन्धर्वराक्षसाः पिशाचा गुह्यकाः सिद्धाः कूष्माण्डास् तरवः खगाः

Transliteration

devāsurās tathā yakṣā nāgā gandharvarākṣasāḥ piśācā guhyakāḥ siddhāḥ kūṣmāṇḍās taravaḥ khagāḥ

Translation

There are the Devas and the Asuras; the Yakṣas; the Nāgas; the Gandharvas and the Rākṣasas; the Piśācas; the Guhyakas; the Siddhas; the Kūṣmāṇḍas; and also the trees and the birds.

Word by Word

• देवासुराः: gods and demons
• देवासुराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + असुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (देवाश्च असुराश्च)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), अर्थः ‘likewise/also’

• यक्षाः: yakṣas
• यक्षाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• नागाः: nāgas (serpent-beings)
• नागाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• गन्धर्वराक्षसाः: gandharvas and rākṣasas
• गन्धर्वराक्षसाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (गन्धर्वाश्च राक्षसाश्च)

• पिशाचाः: piśācas
• पिशाचाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piśāca (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• गुह्यकाः: guhyakas
• गुह्यकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guhyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सिद्धाः: siddhas
• सिद्धाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• कूष्माण्डाः: kūṣmāṇḍas
• कूष्माण्डाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūṣmāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तरवः: trees
• तरवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• खगाः: birds
• खगाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Who are included among the recipients/beneficiaries of the universal water-offering and ritual satisfaction?

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: cataloguing and clarifying

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The cosmos is populated by diverse orders of beings—divine, demonic, semi-divine, and terrestrial—each included within the moral and ritual horizon of dharma.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate non-anthropocentric compassion: extend prayers and welfare-intentions beyond one’s own community to all classes of life.

Vishishtadvaita: Plurality of beings coheres within one divine order; difference is real yet harmonized under the Lord’s governance (śeṣa–śeṣi relation).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Asuras
• Yakshas
• Nagas
• Gandharvas
• Rakshasas
• Pishachas
• Guhyakas
• Siddhas
• Kushmandas

FAQs

What is the significance of listing so many classes of beings in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse emphasizes the Purana’s cosmological scope: all realms—divine, semi-divine, demonic, and natural—are integrated within a single ordered creation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the structure of creation in this chapter?

By cataloguing categories of beings, Parāśara presents creation as a layered ecosystem of species and realms, implying a regulated universe rather than a random emergence.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames such enumerations as manifestations within Vishnu’s cosmic governance—creation’s diversity rests within the Supreme Reality.