Shloka 86

Devanagari script

सस्नौ स्वयं च तन्वङ्गी स्मारयाम् आस चापि तम् यथासौ श्वशृगालाद्या योनीर् जग्राह पार्थिवः

Transliteration

sasnau svayaṃ ca tanvaṅgī smārayām āsa cāpi tam yathāsau śvaśṛgālādyā yonīr jagrāha pārthivaḥ

Translation

Then the slender-limbed lady bathed herself, and she also caused him to remember. Thus the king, drawn onward by the force of karma, entered wombs such as those of dogs, jackals, and the like.

Word by Word

• सस्नौ: bathed
• सस्नौ: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद/परस्मैपद परम्परा; अकर्मक

• स्वयम्: herself
• स्वयम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Agentive adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आत्मकर्तृवाचक ("herself")

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• तन्वङ्गी: the slender-limbed woman
• तन्वङ्गी: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तन्वङ्गी (प्रातिपदिक; तनु + अङ्गी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्ता; कर्मधारय ("slender-limbed woman")

• स्मारयाम्: reminded (him)
• स्मारयाम्: Kriyā (with auxiliary)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) णिच् (causative: स्मारय-)
• Form: लिट्-पर्याय/परिप्रयोगे: causative periphrastic perfect base; (with आसा) "caused to remember/reminded"

• आस: did/was (auxiliary)
• आस: Sahāyakriyā (Auxiliary)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; सहायक्रिया (auxiliary)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• अपि: also
• अपि: Nipāta (Additive particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-भाव (also/even)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्म

• यथा: as
• यथा: Upamā/Prakāra (Comparative adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (as/just as)

• असौ: he (that one)
• असौ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम ("that man/he")

• श्वशृगालाद्याः: (of) dogs, jackals, etc.
• श्वशृगालाद्याः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्व + शृगाल + आदि (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of योनीः); द्वन्द्व ("dogs, jackals, etc.")

• योनीः: wombs/births
• योनीः: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्म (object: "wombs/births")

• जग्राह: took/assumed
• जग्राह: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; सकर्मक

• पार्थिवः: the king
• पार्थिवः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्ता; (राजा/नृपः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Why remembrance and ritual purification do not automatically end saṃsāra, and how karma can propel descent into lower yonis.

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even with moments of recollection and ritual cleansing, the force of past karma may drive the jīva through painful births, underscoring the urgency of deeper liberation-oriented transformation.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Use setbacks as reminders to intensify sādhana—ethical restraint, devotion, and discernment—rather than relying on external markers alone.

Vishishtadvaita: Karma’s real efficacy binds the real jīva to real embodiments; liberation requires the Lord’s grace accessed through sustained bhakti and right knowledge, not mere episodic purification.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• King (Pārthiva)
• A slender-limbed woman (Tanvaṅgī)
• Dogs
• Jackals

FAQs

What is the significance of yoni (womb/species) in this Vishnu Purana verse?

Here “yoni” highlights saṃsāra: the king’s consciousness and karma propel him into successive births, even among animals, showing that status (kingship) cannot override moral law.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the mechanism of rebirth in this context?

Parāśara frames rebirth as a karmically ordered movement of the jīva—memory, desire, and past actions condition the next embodiment, leading the king into dog and jackal births.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this narrative setting?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the teaching presumes Vishnu’s sovereign order: dharma and karmic retribution operate within the cosmic governance upheld by the Supreme Reality.