Shloka 34

विष्ण्वाराधन-फलम् तथा वर्णधर्माः

Worship of Vishnu through Varṇa-dharma

Devanagari script

भृत्यादिभरणार्थाय सर्वेषां च परिग्रहः ऋतुकालाभिगमनं स्वदारेषु महीपते

Transliteration

bhṛtyādibharaṇārthāya sarveṣāṃ ca parigrahaḥ ṛtukālābhigamanaṃ svadāreṣu mahīpate

Translation

O king, let resources be acquired and managed for the support of servants and all dependents; and let conjugal union be approached with one’s own wife in the proper season, in keeping with household dharma.

Word by Word

• भृत्यादिभरणार्थाय: for the support of servants and others
• भृत्यादिभरणार्थाय: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक) + भरण (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (प्रयोजन/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; समासः—(भृत्य-आदि) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः + भरणार्थ (चतुर्थी-तत्पुरुषार्थः)

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

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

• परिग्रहः: acceptance/possession (of property)
• परिग्रहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ऋतुकालाभिगमनम्: approaching (one's wife) at the proper season
• ऋतुकालाभिगमनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋतु (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक) + अभिगमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ऋतुकालस्य अभिगमनम्)

• स्वदारेषु: in/with one's own wives
• स्वदारेषु: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + दार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषार्थः (स्वाः दाराः)

• महीपते: O king (lord of the earth)
• महीपते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महीयाः पतिः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya; addressed here as counsel relevant for a king/householder)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Householder ethics: stewardship of resources for dependents and regulated conjugal life (ṛtu-kāla)

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative and normative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Resources should be gathered and managed to support dependents, and sexual life should be confined to one’s wife and approached in the proper season, keeping kāma within dharma.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice responsible provision for family/community and cultivate disciplined sexuality; treat household life as a sacred trust rather than indulgence.

Vishishtadvaita: Embodied life (artha and kāma) is not rejected but regulated as part of dharma, integrating worldly aims into a God-centered order consistent with qualified non-dualism.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: shanta

Characters & Entities

• King (Mahīpati)
• Dependents/Servants (Bhṛtya)

FAQs

What is the significance of regulated household life in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames household discipline—earning for the support of dependents and fidelity with seasonal restraint—as a core mechanism by which dharma is preserved in society.

How does Sage Parāśara explain ethical acquisition (parigraha) here?

Parāśara limits acquisition to a dharmic purpose: sustaining servants, dependents, and the whole household—not indulgent accumulation—so wealth becomes service to order rather than fuel for desire.

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

Even without naming Vishnu directly, the instruction reflects Vishnu’s sovereignty as the ground of dharma: personal conduct (wealth and desire) is to be aligned with the cosmic law upheld by the Supreme Reality.