Shloka 78

इक्ष्वाकुवंश-प्रसङ्गः, पुरंजय-दैवसाहाय्य-कथा, युवनाश्व-मांधातृ-उत्पत्तिः, सौभरि-वैराग्योपदेशः

Devanagari script

मनोरथानां न समाप्तिर् अस्ति वर्षायुतेनापि तथाब्दलक्षैः पूर्णेषु पूर्णेषु पुनर् नवानाम् उत्पत्तयः सन्ति मनोरथानाम्

Transliteration

manorathānāṃ na samāptir asti varṣāyutenāpi tathābdalakṣaiḥ pūrṇeṣu pūrṇeṣu punar navānām utpattayaḥ santi manorathānām

Translation

There is no end to the mind’s longings—not even with a life of ten thousand years, nor even when hundreds of thousands of years are fully spent. Again and again, as each desire is fulfilled, new desires are born.

Word by Word

• manorathānām: of desires
• manorathānām: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक) + ratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मनसः रथाः); पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; genitive plural

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध); negation particle

• samāptiḥ: end/completion
• samāptiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samāpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• asti: is/exists
• asti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• varṣa-ayutena: by ten-thousand years
• varṣa-ayutena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ayuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (वर्षाणाम् अयुतम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; instrumental

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात); concessive particle

• tathā: likewise/so
• tathā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण); adverb

• abda-lakṣaiḥ: by hundreds of thousands of years
• abda-lakṣaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abda (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (अब्दानां लक्षाणि); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; instrumental plural

• pūrṇeṣu: when (they are) completed
• pūrṇeṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन; locative plural (when completed)

• pūrṇeṣu: again and again completed
• pūrṇeṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन; पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

• punar: again
• punar: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण); adverb

• navānām: of new (ones)
• navānām: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; genitive plural (of new [ones])

• utpattayaḥ: arising/originations
• utpattayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: utpatti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• santi: are/exist
• santi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• manorathānām: of desires
• manorathānām: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक) + ratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; genitive plural (repeated for emphasis)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Desire has no natural terminus: fulfillment itself becomes the condition for fresh desire to arise, even across vast spans of time.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Track the ‘next desire’ pattern after achievements; cultivate contentment through japa, gratitude, and limiting sensory overreach.

Vishishtadvaita: Motivates prapatti/bhakti as the stable telos: finite objects cannot satisfy the jīva whose fulfillment is in relation to the infinite Lord.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of the verse saying desires never end, even across vast time?

It teaches that worldly satisfaction is structurally incomplete: even immense longevity cannot bring final contentment because fulfilled desires continually generate new ones.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the cycle of craving in this passage?

He frames desire as self-renewing—whenever one longing is completed, another arises—highlighting why liberation requires a shift away from desire-driven living.

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

By exposing the futility of endless craving, the text implicitly directs the seeker toward devotion and refuge in Vishnu as the stable, supreme ground beyond transient wants.