Shloka 4

Devanagari script

अङ्गुलस्याष्टभागो ऽपि न सो ऽस्ति मुनिसत्तम न सन्ति प्राणिनो यत्र कर्मबन्धनिबन्धनाः

Transliteration

aṅgulasyāṣṭabhāgo 'pi na so 'sti munisattama na santi prāṇino yatra karmabandhanibandhanāḥ

Translation

O best of sages, there is not even an eighth part of a finger’s breadth of any place where living beings are absent—beings whose very condition is fastened to the bondage of karma.

Word by Word

• अङ्गुलस्य: of a finger
• अङ्गुलस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गुलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• अष्टभागः: an eighth part
• अष्टभागः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टभाग (प्रातिपदिक; अष्टन् + भाग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अष्टानां भागः)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Modifier
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अप्यर्थे/समुच्चयार्थे (particle: 'even/also')

• न: not
• न: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation)

• सः: that (measure)
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• अस्ति: exists/is
• अस्ति: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (असँ भुवि)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मुनिसत्तम: O best of sages
• मुनिसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनिसत्तम (प्रातिपदिक; मुनि + सत्तम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषभाव: 'श्रेष्ठो मुनिः'

• न: not
• न: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• सन्ति: exist/are
• सन्ति: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (असँ भुवि)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• प्राणिनः: living beings
• प्राणिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-सम्बन्ध (relative adverb: 'where')

• कर्मबन्धनिबन्धनाः: whose cause is bondage to action
• कर्मबन्धनिबन्धनाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्म-बन्ध-निबन्धन (प्रातिपदिक; कर्म + बन्ध + निबन्धन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: कर्मणः बन्धः, तस्य निबन्धनं येषां (causal/ground)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Universality of embodied beings and their bondage to karma

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Manvantara

Manvantara: Vaivasvata

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: There is nowhere—even the tiniest measure—free from beings bound by karma, highlighting the pervasiveness of saṃsāra.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Live with vigilance: every action has consequence; practice restraint (yama/niyama) and compassion toward all beings.

Vishishtadvaita: Karmic bondage belongs to real individual selves (jīvas) within the Lord’s real world-order, not a merely illusory appearance.

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Living beings (prāṇinaḥ)
• Karma (karmabandhana)

FAQs

What is the significance of karma-bandhana (bondage of karma) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse stresses that karmic causality is universal: wherever there is embodied life, beings are conditioned by karma, implying that saṃsāra pervades the cosmos.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the pervasiveness of living beings in the cosmos?

By stating that not even the smallest measurable space is empty of prāṇinas, Parāśara frames the universe as continuously inhabited by beings whose births and states follow karmic bonds.

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

Against the backdrop of universal karmic bondage, Vishnu is implicitly the sovereign ground and regulator of cosmic order—karma operates within His sustaining governance, and liberation ultimately depends on His supreme reality.