Shloka 29

Śrāddha’s Cosmic Reach and Kāla-Nirṇaya (Sacred Timings): Amāvāsyā, Nakṣatra-Yoga, Tīrtha, and Minimum Offerings

Devanagari script

सर्वाभावे वनं गत्वा कक्षमूलप्रदर्शकः सूर्यादिलोकपालानाम् इदम् उच्चैर् पठिष्यति

Transliteration

sarvābhāve vanaṃ gatvā kakṣamūlapradarśakaḥ sūryādilokapālānām idam uccair paṭhiṣyati

Translation

When all other supports fail, he should go to the forest and take refuge at the foot of a tree—making that root his appointed shelter—and recite aloud this invocation to the world-guardians beginning with Sūrya, so that protection and right order may be restored around him.

Word by Word

• सर्वाभावे: in total absence (of means)
• सर्वाभावे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वाभाव (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + अभाव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगानुसार), सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative of circumstance)

• वनम्: to the forest
• वनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object of motion)

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Kriya (Gerund/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘having gone’

• कक्ष: of the armpit
• कक्ष: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• मूल: root/base
• मूल: Upapada (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (समासमध्यपद)

• प्रदर्शकः: one who shows/points out
• प्रदर्शकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्र + दृश् (धातु) + ण्वुल् → प्रदर्शक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक (agent noun)

• सूर्य: Sun
• सूर्य: Upapada (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, (समासपूर्वपद)

• आदि: and others
• आदि: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययार्थ)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/समाहारार्थ ‘and others’ (समासाङ्ग)

• लोकपालानाम्: of the world-guardians
• लोकपालानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोकपाल (प्रातिपदिक; लोक + पाल)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object of recitation)

• उच्चैः: aloud
• उच्चैः: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्चैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• पठिष्यति: will recite
• पठिष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पठ् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/लृट्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Contingency rites and invocations when resources for śrāddha/supports are absent; seeking protection via lokapālas.

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When external means fail, one should take austere refuge and invoke cosmic guardians to re-establish protective order.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: In crisis, simplify life, seek solitude, and adopt disciplined prayer/recitation as a stabilizing practice.

Vishishtadvaita: Even worldly order is maintained through divinely empowered lokapālas, implying a single supreme governance expressed through subordinate powers.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Surya
• Lokapalas

FAQs

What is the significance of invoking Sūrya and the Lokapālas in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames them as cosmic guardians whose protection can be sought through correct recitation, reflecting the Purana’s view of universal order operating under higher divine sovereignty.

How does Sage Parāśara explain what to do in times of total hardship?

He prescribes a dharmic fallback: withdraw to a simple, ascetic setting (the forest) and rely on sacred invocation—spoken aloud—to restore protection and steadiness.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context?

Even when addressing Lokapālas, the Purana implies a hierarchy where such guardians function within the Supreme Reality’s (Vishnu’s) ordered cosmos, making the practice an alignment with that divine order.