Shloka 51

अक्रूर-सत्कारः, मथुरायात्रा-विरहः, यमुनातटे दिव्यदर्शनम्, चतुर्व्यूह-नमस्कारः

Devanagari script

प्रसीद सर्वसर्वात्मन् क्षराक्षरमयेश्वर ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवाख्याभिः कल्पनाभिर् उदीरितः

Transliteration

prasīda sarvasarvātman kṣarākṣaramayeśvara brahmaviṣṇuśivākhyābhiḥ kalpanābhir udīritaḥ

Translation

Be gracious, O Self of all selves—O sovereign Lord whose being encompasses both the perishable and the imperishable. Though you are proclaimed through conceptual designations as “Brahmā,” “Viṣṇu,” and “Śiva,” you remain the one Supreme Reality behind those names.

Word by Word

• प्रसीद: be gracious
• प्रसीद: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √सद् (धातु) उपसर्गः प्र + लोट्
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सर्वसर्वात्मन्: O self of all (of everything)
• सर्वसर्वात्मन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; समासः—सर्वेषां सर्वात्मा (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; पुनरुक्त्या व्यापकत्व-बल)

• क्षराक्षरमयेश्वर: O Lord consisting of the perishable and imperishable
• क्षराक्षरमयेश्वर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षर (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक) + मय (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; समासः—क्षराक्षरमयः (द्वन्द्व-तत्पुरुष: क्षरं च अक्षरं च तन्मयः) + ईश्वरः (तत्पुरुष)

• ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवाख्याभिः: by the designations ‘Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva’
• ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवाख्याभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (आख्या), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; समासः—ब्रह्म-विष्णु-शिव (द्वन्द्व) + आख्या (तत्पुरुष: ताभिः आख्याभिः)

• कल्पनाभिः: by conceptions/imaginations
• कल्पनाभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्पना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• उदीरितः: is proclaimed/expressed
• उदीरितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + √ईर् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘उदीरितः’ = ‘उच्चारितः/प्रकथितः’

Speaker

A devotee/supplicant within the narrative (as preserved in Parāśara’s discourse to Maitreya), offering a stuti (hymn) to the Supreme Lord identified with Viṣṇu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The one Lord, encompassing perishable and imperishable, is conceptually designated as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva while remaining the single Supreme Reality.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Hold sectarian names as functional designations and cultivate single-pointed surrender to the Supreme who works through all cosmic roles.

Vishishtadvaita: Interpretable as one Supreme Narayana exercising different cosmic functions (creation, preservation, dissolution) without compromising divine unity and lordship.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Brahma
• Shiva

FAQs

What is the significance of the Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva as names arising from conceptual distinctions, while affirming a single supreme Īśvara who stands behind creation, preservation, and dissolution.

How does Sage Parashara explain the perishable (kshara) and imperishable (akshara) in relation to God?

By calling the Lord “kṣara–akṣara-maya,” the teaching presents Him as the ground that contains and transcends both changing matter and the imperishable principle—He is not limited to either category.

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

Even when the one Lord is spoken of through multiple divine functions and names, the Purāṇic conclusion here is that the supreme sovereignty and inner-selfhood (sarva-sarvātman) ultimately belong to Viṣṇu as the highest reality.