Shloka 18

देवकी-विवाहः, आकाशवाणी, भूरभारावतरण-याचना, क्षीराब्धि-स्तुति, केशावतार-नियोजनम्

Devanagari script

एतत् तस्याप्रमेयस्य रूपं विष्णोर् महात्मनः

Transliteration

etat tasyāprameyasya rūpaṃ viṣṇor mahātmanaḥ

Translation

This indeed is the manifested form of the great-souled Lord Viṣṇu—immeasurable and inconceivable, beyond all limit and measure.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: कर्ता/कर्म (Subject/Object; here predicate-noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘this’

• तस्य: of him; of that (one)
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• अप्रमेयस्य: of the immeasurable
• अप्रमेयस्य: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ (उपसर्ग/नञ्) + प्रमेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; नञ्-समास/निषेधः: ‘immeasurable’

• तस्याप्रमेयस्य: of that immeasurable one
• तस्याप्रमेयस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + अप्रमेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संधि-रूप (तस्य + अप्रमेयस्य); षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• रूपम्: form
• रूपम्: सम्बन्ध/विधेय (Predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• विष्णोः: of Viṣṇu
• विष्णोः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled (one)
• महात्मनः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि-प्रातिपदिक ‘महात्मन्’ (great-souled)

Speaker

Sage Parasara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the immeasurable Viṣṇu can nonetheless be spoken of through manifested forms and cosmic expressions

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Though Viṣṇu is aprameya (beyond measure and conceptual capture), His manifested rūpa is apprehended through revelation and contemplative insight.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Balance apophatic humility (God beyond thought) with devotional contemplation of His revealed forms in mantra, icon, and scripture.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms transcendence (aprameyatva) while allowing real manifestation (rūpa) accessible to devotion—central to qualified non-dualism.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of calling Vishnu 'aprameya' in the Vishnu Purana?

It asserts that Vishnu is beyond all measurement—mind, words, and conceptual limits—while still capable of revealing a knowable form for devotion and understanding.

How does Sage Parasara explain the relationship between Vishnu’s transcendence and his form?

Parasara presents Vishnu as inherently incomprehensible in essence, yet describable through a manifested rūpa that becomes the focus of contemplation, narration, and bhakti.

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

The verse establishes Vishnu as the supreme, all-sovereign reality whose manifested form grounds the narrative and supports Vaishnava devotion and metaphysics.