Shloka 66
वंशस्मरण-फलम्, वैशालिका-प्रसङ्गः, रेवती-बलदेव-विवाहः, विष्णु-परतत्त्व-स्तुतिः
यः सृज्यते सर्गकृद् आत्मनैव यः पाल्यते पालयिता च देवः विश्वात्मना संह्रियते ऽन्तकारी पृथक् त्रयस्यास्य च यो ऽव्ययात्मा
yaḥ sṛjyate sargakṛd ātmanaiva yaḥ pālyate pālayitā ca devaḥ viśvātmanā saṃhriyate 'ntakārī pṛthak trayasyāsya ca yo 'vyayātmā
He who, by His own Self, becomes the Creator and brings forth creation; He who becomes the Preserver and is Himself the divine Guardian of what is sustained; He who, as the indwelling Soul of the universe, becomes the Dissolver—the End-maker; and yet He who remains distinct from this triad of functions, imperishable in His essential being—He is the unchanging Supreme Reality.
Sage Parāśara
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Clarifying that the same Lord becomes creator/preserver/dissolver as the universe’s self, yet remains imperishable and distinct from the triad of functions.
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: authoritative
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: The Supreme becomes the creator, preserver, and dissolver as the universe’s inner Self, yet is also imperishable and ontologically beyond these functional modes.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Meditate on the divine as both the inner witness of all change and the sustaining lord of life, gaining equanimity in success, continuity, and loss.
Vishishtadvaita: Distinct-yet-inseparable relation: the Lord pervades as viśvātman (immanent controller) while remaining pṛthak (transcendent), aligning with qualified non-dualism rather than sheer identity.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse teaches that while Vishnu performs all three cosmic functions, His essential nature remains unchanged and beyond those roles—affirming Him as the imperishable Supreme Reality.
Parāśara presents these as self-assumed modes of the same Supreme Being: Vishnu manifests as the maker of creation, the guardian of what exists, and the end-maker who withdraws the cosmos.
‘Viśvātmā’ emphasizes Vishnu as the indwelling Self of the entire universe, grounding Vaishnava cosmology in the idea that all existence depends on and is pervaded by the Supreme Lord.