Shloka 10

चत्वारोऽाश्रमाः — ब्रह्मचर्यादि मोक्षाश्रमपर्यन्तम्

The Four Āśramas as a graded path to mokṣa

Devanagari script

बलिकर्मणा च भूतानि वात्सल्येनाखिलं जगत् प्राप्नोति लोकान् पुरुषो निजकर्मसमार्जितान्

Transliteration

balikarmaṇā ca bhūtāni vātsalyenākhilaṃ jagat prāpnoti lokān puruṣo nijakarmasamārjitān

Translation

By the sacred offering (bali) living beings are nourished, and by compassionate care the whole world is upheld; thus a person attains the realms earned by one’s own deeds, shaped by the karma one has gathered.

Word by Word

• बलिकर्मणा: by the act of offering (sacrifice/oblation)
• बलिकर्मणा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलि (प्रातिपदिक) + कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (बलिकर्म = बल्यर्थं कर्म)

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

• भूतानि: beings
• भूतानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन

• वात्सल्येन: by affection
• वात्सल्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वात्सल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• अखिलम्: entire
• अखिलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अखिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• जगत्: world
• जगत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• प्राप्नोति: attains
• प्राप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• लोकान्: worlds
• लोकान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन

• पुरुषः: a man
• पुरुषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• निजकर्मसमार्जितान्: earned by one’s own deeds
• निजकर्मसमार्जितान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निज (प्रातिपदिक) + कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + सम् + आर्जित (कृदन्त; √अर्ज् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् लोकान्-इति; समासः तत्पुरुषः (निजकर्मणा समार्जिताः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Duties and relative excellence of the āśramas, especially gārhasthya and its dharmas (bali, vātsalya, support of beings).

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Selfless offerings (bali) and compassionate care (vātsalya) sustain the world and yield karmically earned realms (lokas).

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice daily giving—food/aid to beings—and cultivate steady kindness, treating service as dharma rather than self-display.

Vishishtadvaita: Ethical action is meaningful within God’s ordered world: beings are real dependents, and sustaining them is a sacred participation in dharma.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parashara
• Maitreya
• Living beings (bhūtāni)
• Worlds/realms (lokāḥ)

FAQs

What is the significance of bali (ritual offering) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames bali as a dharmic act that supports and nourishes living beings, making ritual not merely formal worship but a means of sustaining life and order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the relationship between compassion and cosmic order?

Parāśara links vātsalya (tender compassion) with upholding the entire world, presenting ethical care as a pillar of dharma that stabilizes society and the broader order of existence.

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

Within the Vishnu Purana’s worldview, karmic law and the distribution of results operate under the sovereign order upheld by Vishnu; righteous acts like offering and compassion align the individual with that divine order and lead to fitting realms (lokas).