Shloka 6

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

Devanagari script

अदृष्टाः पुरुषैः स्त्रीभिर् देवकीं देवतागणाः बिभ्राणां वपुषा विष्णुं तुष्टुवुस् ताम् अहर्निशम्

Transliteration

adṛṣṭāḥ puruṣaiḥ strībhir devakīṃ devatāgaṇāḥ bibhrāṇāṃ vapuṣā viṣṇuṃ tuṣṭuvus tām aharniśam

Translation

Unseen by men and women, the hosts of gods continually praised Devakī—she who bore Viṣṇu Himself within her body—extolling her day and night.

Word by Word

• adṛṣṭāḥ: unseen
• adṛṣṭāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Kridanta
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: नञ्-पूर्वक क्त (past passive participle) ‘अदृष्ट’ = unseen; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘देवतागणाः’ इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• puruṣaiḥ: by men
• puruṣaiḥ: Karana/Agent (By whom/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• strībhiḥ: by women
• strībhiḥ: Karana/Agent (By whom/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• devakīm: Devakī
• devakīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devakī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• devatā-gaṇāḥ: the hosts of gods
• devatā-gaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवताः + गणः)

• bibhrāṇām: bearing; carrying
• bibhrāṇām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Kridanta
• Root: bhṛ (धातु)
• Form: शानच् (present participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘देवकीम्’ इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• vapuṣā: with (her) body/form
• vapuṣā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vapus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• viṣṇum: Vishnu
• viṣṇum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• tuṣṭuvuḥ: praised
• tuṣṭuvuḥ: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: stu (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tām: her
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• ahar-niśam: day and night
• ahar-niśam: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ahar (प्रातिपदिक) + niśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समासः (अहश्च निशा च) अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषण-प्रयोगः; अव्ययार्थे = ‘day and night’ (continuously)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the devas responded to Devakī bearing Viṣṇu

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: reverent

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: The gods praise Devakī because she bears Viṣṇu, whose descent will relieve the earth and gods of oppression.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Safeguarding the avatāra’s advent and the re-establishment of divine order

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even when unseen to the world, divine realities are actively worshipped by higher beings; bhakti continues beyond human perception.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Maintain steady devotion without seeking recognition; value hidden, continual practice (aharnīśam).

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord truly ‘dwells’ in a concrete locus (Devakī’s body), underscoring real embodiment as a mode of divine presence.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Vasudeva (devotional)

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Vyuha Form: Vasudeva

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Devakī
• Viṣṇu
• Devatāgaṇa (hosts of gods)

FAQs

What is the significance of the gods praising Devakī in the Vishnu Purana?

It marks Devakī as the sanctified vessel of the Supreme—Viṣṇu’s descent is affirmed as a cosmic event, worthy of continuous divine veneration even when hidden from human sight.

How does Sage Parāśara frame the incarnation of Viṣṇu here?

Parāśara presents the avatāra as both immanent and transcendent: Viṣṇu truly enters embodied existence (within Devakī’s body) while remaining the supreme object of worship for the gods.

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

Viṣṇu is portrayed as the sovereign Supreme Reality who voluntarily assumes embodied presence to uphold dharma—an avatāra theology central to later Vaiṣṇava traditions, including Viśiṣṭādvaita and Dvaita readings.