Shloka 3

Devanagari script

अद्य मे सफलं जन्म सुप्रभाता च मे निशा यद् उन्निद्राब्जपत्राक्षं विष्णोर् द्रक्ष्याम्य् अहं मुखम्

Transliteration

adya me saphalaṃ janma suprabhātā ca me niśā yad unnidrābjapatrākṣaṃ viṣṇor drakṣyāmy ahaṃ mukham

Translation

Today my birth has borne its true fruit, and even my night has become a radiant dawn—since I shall behold the face of Viṣṇu, whose eyes are like lotus petals newly opened from sleep.

Word by Word

• अद्य: today
• अद्य: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• सफलम्: fruitful, successful
• सफलम्: Karta-predicative (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सफल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier) जन्म

• जन्म: birth, life
• जन्म: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सुप्रभाता: well-dawned, auspiciously ended (night)
• सुप्रभाता: Karta-predicative (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-प्रभात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier) निशा

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• निशा: night
• निशा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निशा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यत्: because
• यत्: Hetu (Cause marker/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावे/हेतौ ‘यत्’ (because/inasmuch as) — अव्ययप्रयोग (indeclinable usage)

• उन्निद्राब्जपत्राक्षम्: having eyes like the petals of a fully opened lotus
• उन्निद्राब्जपत्राक्षम्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उन्निद्र-अब्ज-पत्र-अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि-विशेषण (describing ‘मुखम्’/or the person)

• विष्णोः: of Vishnu
• विष्णोः: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• द्रक्ष्यामि: I shall see
• द्रक्ष्यामि: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मुखम्: face
• मुखम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

A devotee/royal devotee within the narrative (spoken as an exclamation of bhakti upon the imminent दर्शन of Vishnu; framed in Parasara’s narration to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To grant saving darśana and joy to devotees, making human life fruitful through direct encounter with the Lord’s beauty.

Leela: Moksha-dana

Dharma Restored: Affirmation that bhakti and darśana are the true telos (fruit) of birth

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Human birth becomes truly meaningful when oriented to the Lord’s darśana and loving contemplation of His auspicious form.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Reframe daily life as preparation for darśana—through japa, kīrtana, and mindful seeing of the divine in worship and service.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s auspicious form (divya-maṅgala-vigraha) is a valid, saving object of meditation; liberation is relational, not formless negation.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of darshana (beholding the Lord) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse treats seeing Vishnu’s face as the crowning fulfillment of one’s very birth—darshana is portrayed as the direct, grace-filled culmination of devotion.

How does Sage Parasara explain the devotee’s transformation through devotion?

In Parasara’s narrative flow, the devotee’s inner state is shown to be transfigured: even “night” becomes “dawn,” indicating that Vishnu-centered awareness converts ordinary time and experience into auspiciousness.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Vishnu is the supreme, auspicious reality whose mere vision grants life its meaning; the lotus-eyed epithet underscores his beauty, compassion, and transcendence central to Vaishnava philosophy.