Shloka 55

भविष्य-मन्वन्तराः (अष्टम-चतुर्दश) तथा कल्प-युग-व्यवस्था

Devanagari script

चतुर्युगे ऽप्य् असौ विष्णुः स्थितिव्यापारलक्षणः युगव्यवस्थां कुरुते यथा मैत्रेय तच् छृणु

Transliteration

caturyuge 'py asau viṣṇuḥ sthitivyāpāralakṣaṇaḥ yugavyavasthāṃ kurute yathā maitreya tac chṛṇu

Translation

Even through the cycle of the four Yugas, that very Viṣṇu—whose essential work is the sustaining governance of existence—ordains the proper arrangement of the ages. Hear, O Maitreya, how He establishes the order of the Yugas.

Word by Word

• चतुर्युगे: in the four-yuga cycle
• चतुर्युगे: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् + युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (चतुर्-युग)

• अपि: also, even
• अपि: सम्बन्ध/निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), अपि=also/even

• असौ: that (he)
• असौ: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (demonstrative pronoun)

• विष्णुः: Vishnu
• विष्णुः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• स्थितिव्यापारलक्षणः: characterized by the function of preservation
• स्थितिव्यापारलक्षणः: कर्तृविशेषण (Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थिति + व्यापार + लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः—तत्पुरुष (स्थिति-व्यापार-लक्षण)

• युगव्यवस्थाम्: the arrangement/order of the yugas
• युगव्यवस्थाम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग + व्यवस्था (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (युग-व्यवस्था)

• कुरुते: makes, establishes
• कुरुते: क्रिया (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• यथा: as, how
• यथा: सम्बन्ध/अव्यय (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-सम्बन्ध (adverb/conjunction) = as/how

• मैत्रेय: O Maitreya
• मैत्रेय: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• तत्: that (this matter)
• तत्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• शृणु: hear, listen
• शृणु: क्रिया (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How Viṣṇu establishes and regulates the order of the four yugas (yuga-vyavasthā).

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Yuga: caturyuga (Satya–Tretā–Dvāpara–Kali)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Viṣṇu’s sustaining power (sthiti) expresses itself as the orderly progression and regulation of the yugas.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Contemplate time as divinely ordered; align one’s conduct to yuga-appropriate dharma rather than personal whim.

Vishishtadvaita: The Supreme Lord personally administers cosmic time while remaining the transcendent ruler—order is His purposeful governance, not blind mechanism.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of yuga-vyavasthā (the ordering of the Yugas) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames the Yuga system as a divinely instituted order—Viṣṇu Himself establishes the structure of time and the conditions under which dharma rises and declines.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the governance of the four Yugas?

Parāśara presents Viṣṇu as the principle of sustenance (sthiti) who actively regulates the ages; the verse introduces an explanation of how the Yugas are arranged and maintained.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Viṣṇu is not merely a participant in history but the sovereign organizer of cosmic time—His sustaining power underwrites the moral and temporal order of the world across all four Yugas.