Shloka 15

शरद्वर्णनं, योगोपमा, तथा गोवर्धन-यज्ञप्रवर्तनम्

Devanagari script

प्राणायाम इवाम्भोभिः सरसां कृतपूरकैः अभ्यस्यते ऽनुदिवसं रेचकाकुम्भकादिभिः

Transliteration

prāṇāyāma ivāmbhobhiḥ sarasāṃ kṛtapūrakaiḥ abhyasyate 'nudivasaṃ recakākumbhakādibhiḥ

Translation

As prāṇāyāma is practiced day after day through inhalation, exhalation, retention, and the rest, so the lakes’ waters, filled again and again, continually move in their own rhythmic cycle.

Word by Word

• प्राणायामः: breath-control (prāṇāyāma)
• प्राणायामः: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक) + आयाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (प्राणस्य आयामः/नियमनम्)

• इव: like; as if
• इव: Upamana-marker (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• अम्भोभिः: with waters
• अम्भोभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), तृतीया (instrumental), बहुवचन (plural)

• सरसाम्: of lakes
• सरसाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), षष्ठी (genitive), बहुवचन (plural)

• कृतपूरकैः: with (channels) having their ‘fillings’ done; with filled (inlets)
• कृतपूरकैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत (कृदन्त) + पूरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (instrumental), बहुवचन (plural); विशेषण; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कृताः पूरकाः येषां/यैः)

• अभ्यस्यते: is practiced; is repeatedly performed
• अभ्यस्यते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-√अस्/अभि-√अस्? (धातु) → अभ्यस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• अनुदिवसम्: day by day; daily
• अनुदिवसम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनु (अव्यय) + दिवस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial)

• रेचकाकुम्भकादिभिः: by exhalations, retentions, and the like
• रेचकाकुम्भकादिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेचक (प्रातिपदिक) + कुम्भक (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (instrumental), बहुवचन (plural); समासः—द्वन्द्वः (रेचक + कुम्भक) ततः ‘आदि’ समाहार/तत्पुरुष-भावेन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: methodical, practice-oriented

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Like prāṇāyāma’s repeated pūraka–recaka–kumbhaka, nature’s waters move in disciplined cycles that model steady practice.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Adopt consistent daily sādhanā (regulated breath, japa, or meditation) rather than sporadic intensity; track rhythm and moderation.

Vishishtadvaita: Embodied disciplines are meaningful in Viśiṣṭādvaita as offerings through the body-mind (a real mode of the self) to the Supreme, not as mere illusion-management.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Lakes (saras)

FAQs

What is the significance of prāṇāyāma imagery in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse uses prāṇāyāma (pūraka–recaka–kumbhaka) as a metaphor for recurring natural rhythms, presenting the world as ordered and regulated rather than random.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cyclical order in this context?

By comparing daily yogic practice to repeated filling/emptying processes in lakes, Parāśara frames cosmic functioning as a disciplined cycle—an intelligible pattern within creation.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Even when not named explicitly, the Purāṇa’s cosmology assumes a sovereign, sustaining principle behind orderly cycles—consistent with Vishnu as the Supreme Reality who upholds and harmonizes the universe.