Shloka 2

शरद्वर्णनं, योगोपमा, तथा गोवर्धन-यज्ञप्रवर्तनम्

Devanagari script

अवापुस् तापम् अत्यर्थं शफर्यः पल्वलोदके पुत्रक्षेत्रादिसक्तेन ममत्वेन यथा गृही

Transliteration

avāpus tāpam atyarthaṃ śapharyaḥ palvalodake putrakṣetrādisaktena mamatvena yathā gṛhī

Translation

In the shallow water of a little pond the fish fell into intense suffering; so too a householder, clinging to son, field, and the rest, bound by the possessive sense of “mine,” comes to anguish.

Word by Word

• अवापुः: they obtained / they came to
• अवापुः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव् + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (plural)

• तापम्: heat; suffering
• तापम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• अत्यर्थम्: excessively; very much
• अत्यर्थम्: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्यर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• शफर्यः: female fish
• शफर्यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शफरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (plural)

• पल्वल-उदके: in the pond-water
• पल्वल-उदके: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पल्वल (प्रातिपदिक) + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन (singular)

• पुत्र-क्षेत्र-आदि-सक्तेन: by attachment to son, field, etc.
• पुत्र-क्षेत्र-आदि-सक्तेन: Hetu/Karana (हेतु/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + सक्त (कृदन्त, √सञ्ज्/सज्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन (singular); भूतकृदन्त (past participle) ‘सक्त’ = attached; (सक्तेन)

• ममत्वेन: by possessiveness; by the sense of ‘mine’
• ममत्वेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ममत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन (singular)

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Upamana-marker (उपमानसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (comparative particle)

• गृही: a householder
• गृही: Upamana (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृहिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Possessive identification (mamatva) with family and property binds the jīva and ripens as suffering, like fish trapped in a shrinking pond.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice non-possessiveness by treating roles and possessions as stewardship (sevā) rather than identity, and regularly contemplate impermanence.

Vishishtadvaita: The jīva is a dependent self (śeṣa) meant for Bhagavān’s service; mamatva misdirects that dependence toward prakṛti and relationships.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Householder (gṛhī)

FAQs

What is the significance of mamatva (the sense of ‘mine’) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents mamatva as a direct cause of torment: clinging to relationships and property traps one in suffering, like fish confined to a shallow pond.

How does Sage Parāśara explain attachment in this teaching to Maitreya?

Parāśara uses a vivid simile—fish suffering in a small pond—to show that attachment to ‘son, field, and the rest’ constricts the mind and produces distress.

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

By exposing possessiveness as bondage, the teaching implicitly points toward freedom through turning from ‘mine-ness’ to reliance on the Supreme Lord Vishnu as the true refuge beyond samsara.