Shloka 50

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

Devanagari script

सकलावरणातीत निरालम्बनभावन महाविभूतिसंस्थान नमस् ते पुरुषोत्तम

Transliteration

sakalāvaraṇātīta nirālambanabhāvana mahāvibhūtisaṃsthāna namas te puruṣottama

Translation

Salutations to You, O Puruṣottama—beyond every veil and covering, the supportless Support who upholds all; the abiding ground of immeasurable majesty and sovereign power.

Word by Word

• sakala-āvaraṇa-atīta: O one beyond all coverings
• sakala-āvaraṇa-atīta: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक) + āvaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + atīta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (sakalāni āvaraṇāni atītaḥ) + कृदन्त (अति-इ धातोः क्त ‘अतीत’)

• nirālambana-bhāvana: O sustainer/producer without support
• nirālambana-bhāvana: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nir-ālambana (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (nirālambanam bhāvayati/karoti iti)

• mahā-vibhūti-saṃsthāna: O abode of great majesty
• mahā-vibhūti-saṃsthāna: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + vibhūti (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (mahāyā vibhūtyāḥ saṃsthānam = seat/abode of great glory)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाववत्)
• Form: नमस्कारार्थक अव्यय (salutation particle), प्रायः चतुर्थीयोग्य (to)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• puruṣottama: O सर्वोत्तम पुरुष (Supreme Person)
• puruṣottama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (puruṣāṇām uttamaḥ)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (invocatory praise within the Parāśara–Maitreya dialogue)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: A concluding salutation identifying the Lord as Puruṣottama—beyond all coverings, the self-sufficient support and seat of great vibhūti.

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: compassionate

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: He is praised as Puruṣottama who transcends all coverings and upholds all existence, drawing beings toward refuge in the supreme Lord.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Re-centering all dependence and worship upon the Supreme Person beyond material limitation.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Offer reverent surrender to Puruṣottama who transcends all veils (āvaraṇas) yet supports all as the ground of immeasurable divine majesty (vibhūti).

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: In prayer and daily work, practice śaraṇāgati: acknowledge dependence, offer outcomes to the Lord, and remember His sustaining presence beyond material coverings.

Vishishtadvaita: Balances transcendence (‘beyond coverings’) with immanent support (‘upholds all’), matching the Vishishtadvaita insistence on a personal Supreme with infinite auspicious attributes and real relation to the world.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna (personal)

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of being “beyond all coverings” (sakalāvaraṇātīta) in the Vishnu Purana?

It affirms Vishnu as transcendent to all limiting veils—ignorance, material conditions, and cosmic layers—establishing Him as the Supreme Reality rather than a deity confined within creation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the Lord as “supportless Support” (nirālambana-bhāvana)?

Through such invocations, Parāśara frames Vishnu as self-existent and independent, yet the sustaining cause of the universe—needing no foundation while providing the foundation for all.

What is the theological importance of calling Vishnu “Puruṣottama” here?

“Puruṣottama” identifies Vishnu as the Supreme Person who contains and governs all vibhūtis (majestic manifestations), aligning the Purana’s cosmology with devotion to an ultimate, personal Absolute.