Shloka 18

कामतृष्णावैराग्योपदेशः तथा राज्यविभागः

Teaching on Desire & Renunciation; Delegation of Kingdoms

Devanagari script

पूर्णं वर्षसहस्रं मे विषयासक्तचेतसः तथाप्य् अनुदिनं तृष्णा ममैतेष्व् एव जायते

Transliteration

pūrṇaṃ varṣasahasraṃ me viṣayāsaktacetasaḥ tathāpy anudinaṃ tṛṣṇā mamaiteṣv eva jāyate

Translation

Though a full thousand years have passed with my mind fastened upon sense-objects, still, day after day, my craving is born again for these very pleasures.

Word by Word

• पूर्णम्: complete/full
• पूर्णम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifier)

• वर्षसहस्रम्: a thousand years
• वर्षसहस्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: वर्षाणां सहस्रम् (= a thousand years)

• मे: of me / my
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th) एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• विषयासक्तचेतसः: of me whose mind is attached to sense-objects
• विषयासक्तचेतसः: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषय (प्रातिपदिक) + आसक्त (कृदन्त, आसञ्ज् धातु) + चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular); बहुव्रीहि-सदृश विशेषणार्थे समासप्रयोगः (sense: 'whose mind is attached to objects'); रूपतः चेतस्-शब्दस्य षष्ठी एकवचन (cetasaḥ)

• तथापि: even so / nevertheless
• तथापि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा + अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunctive particle): 'even so/however'

• अनुदिनम्: daily
• अनुदिनम्: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनु + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्यय (adverb): 'day by day'

• तृष्णा: craving/thirst
• तृष्णा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृष्णा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम

• एतेषु: in these (things)
• एतेषु: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) / नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), बहुवचन (Plural); सर्वनाम

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• जायते: arises/is born
• जायते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even prolonged indulgence fails to satiate desire; attachment to sense-objects reproduces craving daily.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Track recurring cravings and replace indulgence-loops with disciplined practices (japa, seva, regulated enjoyment) to break reinforcement.

Vishishtadvaita: The verse implies that finite viṣayas cannot fulfill the self; lasting fulfillment is oriented to the Supreme (Vishnu) as the soul’s proper end (puruṣārtha).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of tṛṣṇā (craving) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights that craving renews itself daily even after long enjoyment, showing why sense-pleasure cannot grant lasting satisfaction and why detachment is necessary for spiritual progress.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the persistence of desire?

By stating that even after a thousand years of attachment to objects, thirst still arises again, Parāśara teaches that desire is self-reproducing and not extinguished by indulgence.

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

The verse functions as a turning-point teaching: since worldly objects cannot end longing, one should redirect the mind toward Vishnu—the enduring Supreme Reality—rather than transient pleasures.