Shloka 2

सोमवंशश्रवणप्रार्थना

Maitreya’s Request for the Lunar Dynasty

Devanagari script

कीर्त्यते स्थिरकीर्तीनां येषाम् अद्यापि संततिः प्रसादसुमुखस् तन् मे ब्रह्मन्न् आख्यातुम् अर्हसि

Transliteration

kīrtyate sthirakīrtīnāṃ yeṣām adyāpi saṃtatiḥ prasādasumukhas tan me brahmann ākhyātum arhasi

Translation

O Brahman, be gracious and tell me of those whose fame is steadfast, whose lineage is remembered and recounted even to this day.

Word by Word

• कीर्त्यते: is proclaimed
• कीर्त्यते: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कीर्त् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद, कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive): 'is celebrated/told'

• स्थिर-कीर्तीनाम्: of those of enduring fame
• स्थिर-कीर्तीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थिर (प्रातिपदिक) + कीर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: 'स्थिरा कीर्तिः येषाम्' (as a bahuvrihi sense in context, but form is gen. pl. of compound noun)

• येषाम्: whose
• येषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• अद्यापि: even today
• अद्यापि: Kala (Time adjunct/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य + अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-समुच्चय (adverbial): 'even today/still'

• संततिः: descendants/line
• संततिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संतति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• प्रसाद-सुमुखः: gracious-faced
• प्रसाद-सुमुखः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रसाद (प्रातिपदिक) + सुमुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे: 'प्रसादेन सुमुखः' = gracious-faced

• तत्: that (account)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन (enclitic)

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahmin / O sage
• ब्रह्मन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• आख्यातुम्: to tell
• आख्यातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + ख्या (धातु) + तुमुन् (कृदन्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: तुमुनन्त (infinitive), अव्ययभाव: 'to narrate'

• अर्हसि: you ought / you are fit
• अर्हसि: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Maitreya (addressing Sage Parāśara)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: Requests Parāśara to graciously narrate the renowned kings of the Lunar line whose fame/lineage endures in memory.

Teaching: Genealogical

Quality: supplicatory, courteous

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Enduring fame (sthirakīrti) arises from dhārmic life worthy of remembrance and recitation across time.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate integrity and public responsibility so that one’s legacy benefits others; also preserve cultural memory by learning and teaching exemplary lives.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma lived in society becomes a mode of service to Nārāyaṇa’s order; remembrance (kīrtana/śravaṇa) supports devotion

Dynasty & Genealogy

Vamsha: Chandra

Dharma Exemplar: Kīrti grounded in dharma—enduring fame as moral remembrance

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Parāśara
• Royal lineages (vaṃśa)
• Renowned kings and descendants

FAQs

What is the significance of enduring lineage (saṁtati) in the Vishnu Purana’s dynasty sections?

This verse highlights the Purāṇic aim of preserving memory of exemplary rulers—those whose fame endures because their line continues and their deeds remain worthy of recitation in dharma-history.

How does Sage Parāśara explain genealogies to Maitreya in the Vishnu Purana?

Maitreya requests a structured narration, and Parāśara responds by recounting successions of kings and descendants as an ordered record of righteous rule and continuity across ages.

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

Even when the verse speaks of human lineages, the Purāṇa’s broader frame treats sovereignty and historical continuity as operating under Vishnu’s supreme order—kingship and dynasty are meaningful insofar as they align with dharma sustained by the Supreme Reality.