Shloka 61

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

Devanagari script

भूतं भव्यं भविष्यं च सर्वभूतान् महात्मनः तद् अत्रान्यत्र वा विप्र सद्भावः कथितस् तव

Transliteration

bhūtaṃ bhavyaṃ bhaviṣyaṃ ca sarvabhūtān mahātmanaḥ tad atrānyatra vā vipra sadbhāvaḥ kathitas tava

Translation

The past, the present, and the future—indeed the whole condition of all beings—abides in that Great-Souled Lord; whether here or elsewhere, O brāhmaṇa, His true nature has been declared to you.

Word by Word

• भूतम्: the past (what has been)
• भूतम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; भू धातोः क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle used substantively)

• भव्यम्: the future (what is to be)
• भव्यम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन (Singular)

• भविष्यम्: the future (what will be)
• भविष्यम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भविष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• सर्वभूतान्: all beings
• सर्वभूतान्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); बहुवचन (Plural); कर्मधारय-समास (सर्वाणि भूतानि)

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one
• महात्मनः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); एकवचन (Singular)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object; resumptive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom./Acc.); एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Alternative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle)

• विप्र: O brahmin
• विप्र: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative); एकवचन (Singular)

• सद्भावः: true nature, real existence
• सद्भावः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत् (प्रातिपदिक) + भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सतः भावः)

• कथितः: has been told, has been described
• कथितः: Kriya (Predicate; passive participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि प्रयोगे भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle: 'has been told')

• तव: to you, of you
• तव: Sampradana (Recipient; to you)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya as 'vipra')

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The Lord as the substratum of time (past-present-future) and the true condition of all beings

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: All temporal states and all beings abide in the Great-Souled Lord, whose true nature is the consistent teaching of scripture.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Use the sense of time’s flow (memory, present awareness, anticipation) as a cue to recollect the Lord as the constant ground of experience.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord is the abiding support of all selves and matter across time, preserving real plurality while grounding it in one supreme reality.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of past, present, and future in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents all three divisions of time as contained within the Supreme Lord, framing time not as independent but as comprehended and governed by Vishnu.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of 'sadbhāva' (true nature) here?

Parāśara concludes that he has disclosed the Lord’s real being—His all-encompassing sovereignty over every state of existence—both in this section and consistently across the wider teaching.

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

Vishnu is affirmed as the Mahātman whose reality includes all beings and all times, supporting a theistic cosmology where the Supreme Person is the ultimate ground and ruler of the universe.