Shloka 3

यमस्य अधिकारभङ्गः — वैष्णवस्य लक्षणम्

Freedom from Yama through Hari-śaraṇāgati

Devanagari script

स्थूलैः सूक्ष्मैस् तथासूक्ष्मैः सूक्ष्मात् सूक्ष्मतरैस् तथा स्थूलैः स्थूलतरैश् चैतत् सर्वं प्राणिभिर् आवृतम्

Transliteration

sthūlaiḥ sūkṣmais tathāsūkṣmaiḥ sūkṣmāt sūkṣmatarais tathā sthūlaiḥ sthūlataraiś caitat sarvaṃ prāṇibhir āvṛtam

Translation

This whole expanse is enveloped by living beings—by the gross, the subtle, and the yet more subtle; by what is subtler than the subtle, and likewise by the gross and what is even more gross.

Word by Word

• स्थूलैः: by/with gross (beings)
• स्थूलैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; adjective used substantively with implied 'प्राणिभिः'

• सूक्ष्मैः: by/with subtle (beings)
• सूक्ष्मैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, बहुवचन; adjective (instrumental plural)

• तथा: likewise/and
• तथा: Sambandha/Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपमानार्थ-क्रियाविशेषण (conjunctive/adverb: 'and/likewise')

• असूक्ष्मैः: by/with non-subtle (i.e., not subtle)
• असूक्ष्मैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + सूक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, बहुवचन; नञ्-समासभाव (negated adjective)

• सूक्ष्मात्: from (what is) subtle
• सूक्ष्मात्: Apādāna (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन; comparative range marker

• सूक्ष्मतरैः: by/with subtler (ones)
• सूक्ष्मतरैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूक्ष्मतर (प्रातिपदिक; सूक्ष्म + तर)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, बहुवचन; comparative adjective

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Sambandha/Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/क्रियाविशेषण

• स्थूलैः: by/with gross (ones)
• स्थूलैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, बहुवचन; repetition for contrast

• स्थूलतरैः: by/with grosser (ones)
• स्थूलतरैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थूलतर (प्रातिपदिक; स्थूल + तर)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, बहुवचन; comparative adjective

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

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma/Viśeṣya (Object/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• सर्वम्: all/entire
• सर्वम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; agrees with एतत्

• प्राणिभिः: by living beings
• प्राणिभिः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• आवृतम्: covered/enveloped
• आवृतम्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + √वृ (वृञ् वरणे/वरण-आच्छादनयोः)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थः

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Pervasiveness of embodied beings across the worlds and the scope of saṃsāra

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Manvantara

Manvantara: Vaivasvata

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Across the cosmic expanse, embodied life pervades every scale from gross to exceedingly subtle forms.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate humility and non-harm by recognizing life’s ubiquity and the continuity of embodied existence.

Vishishtadvaita: Jīvas inhabit all grades of embodiment within the Lord’s ordered cosmos, implying a real plurality of selves within one divine governance.

Characters & Entities

• Living beings (Prāṇins)

FAQs

What is the significance of subtle and gross beings in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents creation as fully populated across multiple layers of embodiment—from gross to increasingly subtle—implying that life pervades every level of the cosmos, not only the visible world.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the gradation from subtle to subtler?

By stacking comparative terms (sūkṣma, asūkṣma, sūkṣmāt sūkṣmatara), Parāśara indicates a spectrum of embodiment, suggesting many orders of living existence beyond ordinary sensory perception.

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

Within the Vishnu Purana’s creation teaching, such all-pervaded, ordered plurality points to a single sovereign ground of reality—Vishnu—as the sustaining principle in which all levels of life and matter are encompassed.