Shloka 4

शरद्वर्णनं, योगोपमा, तथा गोवर्धन-यज्ञप्रवर्तनम्

Devanagari script

उत्सृज्य जलसर्वस्वं विमलाः सितमूर्तयः तत्यजुश् चाम्बरं मेघा गृहं विज्ञानिनो यथा

Transliteration

utsṛjya jalasarvasvaṃ vimalāḥ sitamūrtayaḥ tatyajuś cāmbaraṃ meghā gṛhaṃ vijñānino yathā

Translation

Having released all the water they held, the clouds—pure, white-bodied, and cleansed—then abandoned the sky, just as the wise, possessing true discernment, depart from the house of worldly attachment.

Word by Word

• उत्सृज्य: having cast off
• उत्सृज्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत्-√सृज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) अव्यय; ‘having abandoned/letting go’

• जल-सर्वस्वम्: all their water; their entire water-content
• जल-सर्वस्वम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्वस्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• विमलाः: pure; clear
• विमलाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (plural)

• सित-मूर्तयः: white forms (i.e., bright shapes)
• सित-मूर्तयः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सित (प्रातिपदिक) + मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (plural)

• तत्यजुः: they abandoned
• तत्यजुः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (plural)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• अम्बरम्: the sky
• अम्बरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• मेघाः: clouds
• मेघाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (plural)

• गृहम्: a house; home
• गृहम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• विज्ञानिनः: the wise; those with discernment
• विज्ञानिनः: Upamana (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विज्ञानिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (plural)

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

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Having discharged what they carried, the purified clouds move on; likewise the discerning relinquish household-identity and depart once duties are fulfilled.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Complete responsibilities without hoarding (resources, roles, recognition), then consciously loosen identity from them; adopt periodic ‘release’ practices (dāna, simplification).

Vishishtadvaita: Right renunciation in Viśiṣṭādvaita is duty-fulfilled detachment: one acts as Bhagavān’s instrument, then lets go of agency and possession.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Clouds (Meghāḥ)
• The Wise (Vijñāninaḥ)

FAQs

What is the significance of the clouds leaving the sky in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse uses the natural completion of rainfall—clouds emptying their waters and moving on—as an image of non-attachment: after fulfilling their function, they do not cling to their former place.

How does Sage Parāśara explain detachment (vairāgya) through cosmology here?

Parāśara frames a cosmic process (clouds releasing water) as a moral-spiritual lesson: the discerning person, like the cloud, relinquishes what is held and then departs from the “house” of binding identification.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the Purāṇic intent is that orderly cosmic functions operate under the Supreme Reality’s sovereignty; nature’s rhythms become a teaching-device pointing to dharma and liberation.