Shloka 16

गर्भ-व्यवस्था, देवकी-गर्भ-स्तुति (गर्भस्तुतिः), जगदन्तर्गत-हरि-प्रतिपादनम्

Devanagari script

तदन्तर् ये स्थिता देवा दैत्यगन्धर्वचारणाः महोरगास् तथा यक्षा राक्षसाः प्रेतगुह्यकाः

Transliteration

tadantar ye sthitā devā daityagandharvacāraṇāḥ mahoragās tathā yakṣā rākṣasāḥ pretaguhyakāḥ

Translation

In the spaces between those worlds dwell many orders of beings—gods, Daityas, Gandharvas and Cāraṇas; the great serpents, the Yakṣas, the Rākṣasas, and also the hosts of Pretas and Guhyakas.

Word by Word

• तदन्तर्: within that (in its interior)
• तदन्तर्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तस्य अन्तरम्) — ‘तदन्तरे’ इत्यर्थे (locative sense)

• ये: who/which
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यत् (relative pronoun)

• स्थिताः: situated, dwelling
• स्थिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (देवाः इत्यादीनाम्)

• देवाः: gods
• देवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• दैत्यगन्धर्वचारणाः: Daityas, Gandharvas, and Cāraṇas
• दैत्यगन्धर्वचारणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + गन्धर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + चारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (दैत्याः च गन्धर्वाः च चारणाः च)

• महोरगाः: great serpents
• महोरगाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + उरग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान्तः उरगाः)

• तथा: also, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/उपमानार्थ-अव्यय (also/likewise)

• यक्षाः: Yakṣas
• यक्षाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• राक्षसाः: Rākṣasas
• राक्षसाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• प्रेतगुह्यकाः: Pretas and Guhyakas
• प्रेतगुह्यकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक) + गुह्यक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (प्रेताः च गुह्यकाः च)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Between the worlds exist many orders of beings, indicating a densely inhabited and multi-species cosmos.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice non-anthropocentric reverence: cultivate ahimsā and humility toward all classes of life and unseen orders.

Vishishtadvaita: Multiplicity of sentient beings (cit) across realms coheres within one cosmic order, consistent with the Lord as the inner ruler of all jīvas.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Daityas
• Gandharvas
• Cāraṇas
• Mahoragas (Nāgas)
• Yakṣas
• Rākṣasas
• Pretas
• Guhyakas

FAQs

What is the significance of listing many classes of beings in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse maps the universe as a structured, inhabited order, showing that even non-human and unseen beings occupy designated cosmic regions within a divinely governed system.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the ‘in-between’ spaces of the cosmos here?

Parāśara describes the intervals between worlds as populated realms, not emptiness—habitats for Devas, semi-divine beings, serpentine races, nature-spirits, and spectral hosts.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

By presenting an ordered hierarchy of realms and beings, the text implies Vishnu’s overarching sovereignty: all categories of existence function within the cosmic arrangement upheld by the Supreme Reality.