Shloka 35

गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः

Devanagari script

नरकेषु समस्तेषु यातनासु च ये स्थिताः तेषाम् आप्यायनायैतद् दीयते सलिलं मया

Transliteration

narakeṣu samasteṣu yātanāsu ca ye sthitāḥ teṣām āpyāyanāyaitad dīyate salilaṃ mayā

Translation

For those who abide in every hell and in all forms of torment, this water is offered by me, that they may be refreshed, nourished, and granted relief.

Word by Word

• नरकेषु: in hells
• नरकेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• समस्तेषु: in all (of them)
• समस्तेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• यातनासु: in torments
• यातनासु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• स्थिताः: situated/placed
• स्थिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतभावे (past participle), अर्थः ‘standing/being’

• तेषाम्: for them / of them
• तेषाम्: Sampradana (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• आप्यायनाय: for refreshment/nourishment
• आप्यायनाय: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āpyāyana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (here: object ‘this’)

• दीयते: is given
• दीयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद, कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• सलिलम्: water
• सलिलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: salila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (passive construction: given thing)

• मया: by me
• मया: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; verse phrased as a ritual utterance of the performer)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Extending ritual compassion even to beings suffering in narakas through the medium of water-offering.

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: compassionate yet formal

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Dharma includes compassionate intention toward even the most afflicted; ritual acts can be framed as intercessory welfare for those in states of suffering.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice compassionate prayer and charitable acts for those in extreme distress (prisoners, war victims, the ill), without judgment, as a discipline of the heart.

Vishishtadvaita: Even the suffering jīva remains a real self under the Lord; compassion toward them is service to the divine order that upholds all beings.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)

Bhakti Type: Dasya

FAQs

What is the significance of offering water (salila) in this Vishnu Purana verse?

The verse frames water as a compassionate offering intended to refresh and relieve beings enduring suffering, extending ritual merit beyond one’s immediate ancestors to all who are afflicted.

How does Sage Parāśara explain compassion within ritual duty here?

By presenting the offering as explicitly aimed at the nourishment and relief of sufferers, Parāśara links correct rite with a universal intention—dharma is not merely formal, but benevolent in purpose.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana places such dharmic acts within a Vishnu-ordered cosmos, where righteous intention and prescribed duty sustain universal order and welfare.