Shloka 23

Devanagari script

अतितिक्षाधनं क्रूरम् उपभोगसहं हरे द्विजिह्वं तव यद् रूपं तस्मै सर्पात्मने नमः

Transliteration

atitikṣādhanaṃ krūram upabhogasahaṃ hare dvijihvaṃ tava yad rūpaṃ tasmai sarpātmane namaḥ

Translation

O Hari, salutations to Your serpent-natured form—of extreme endurance, fierce in power, able to bear and partake of enjoyments, and marked with a double tongue.

Word by Word

• अतितिक्षाधनम्: having extreme forbearance as its wealth
• अतितिक्षाधनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतितिक्षा (प्रातिपदिक) + धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; (Neuter, Nominative/Accusative Singular)

• क्रूरम्: cruel
• क्रूरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (Neuter, Nom/Acc Singular)

• उपभोगसहम्: enduring enjoyment/consumption
• उपभोगसहम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपभोग (प्रातिपदिक) + सह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (Neuter, Nom/Acc Singular)

• हरे: O Hari
• हरे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन; (Masculine, Vocative Singular)

• द्विजिह्वम्: two-tongued (fork-tongued)
• द्विजिह्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि (अव्यय/संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + जिह्वा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (Neuter, Nom/Acc Singular)

• तव: your
• तव: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन; (Genitive Singular)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Visheshana (Relative/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (Neuter, Nom/Acc Singular)

• रूपम्: form
• रूपम्: Karma/Pratipadyam (Object/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (Neuter, Nom/Acc Singular)

• तस्मै: to that (form)
• तस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन; (Dative Singular)

• सर्पात्मने: to the serpent-natured one
• सर्पात्मने: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन; (Masculine, Dative Singular)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Prayojaka/Formula (Salutation formula)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात); नमः-प्रयोगः दत्तिवाचकः (indeclinable particle used with dative: ‘salutation to’)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; hymn-like narration)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Forms (rūpas) of the Lord praised as encompassing diverse cosmic functions and natures

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord’s divinity includes even fierce and liminal serpent-natures, worthy of reverent surrender.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice non-selective reverence—offer devotion even when the divine appears in frightening or paradoxical forms.

Vishishtadvaita: Vishnu’s auspicious lordship (śeṣitva) accommodates manifold modes (cit/acit) without compromising His supremacy.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu (Hari)
• Serpent-form (Nāga/Śeṣa imagery)

FAQs

What is the significance of the serpent-form (sarpātmā) in the Vishnu Purana?

It highlights Vishnu’s sustaining sovereignty: the Supreme Lord manifests even as the nāga principle (often associated with Śeṣa) to uphold, bear, and stabilize cosmic order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain Vishnu’s multiple forms in this chapter?

Through a sequence of salutations, Parāśara presents Vishnu as the one Supreme Reality who assumes diverse natures and attributes—each form worthy of reverence and expressive of His cosmic functions.

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

Vishnu is addressed as Hari, the ultimate object of worship, whose formidable yet sustaining manifestations show Him as both transcendent Lord and immanent support of the universe.