Shloka 88

कुब्जानुग्रहः, धनुर्भङ्गः, कुवलयापीडवधः, मल्लयुद्धं, कंसवधः, स्तुतयः

Devanagari script

जगद् एतज् जगन्नाथ संभूतम् अखिलं यतः कया युक्त्या विना मायां सो ऽस्मत्तः संभविष्यति

Transliteration

jagad etaj jagannātha saṃbhūtam akhilaṃ yataḥ kayā yuktyā vinā māyāṃ so 'smattaḥ saṃbhaviṣyati

Translation

O Jagannātha, Lord of the universe, from whom this whole cosmos has arisen—by what reasoning could He ever come into being from us, apart from His own Māyā?

Word by Word

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (demonstrative)

• जगन्नाथ: O Lord of the world
• जगन्नाथ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् + नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• संभूतम्: arisen/produced
• संभूतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + भू (धातु) → संभूत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

• अखिलम्: entire
• अखिलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अखिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• यतः: from whom/whence
• यतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थे/यतस् = 'from whom/wherefrom' (ablatival sense)

• कया: by what
• कया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• युक्त्या: by reasoning/means
• युक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपपद-योगे तृतीया/द्वितीया-अर्थे 'without'

• मायाम्: māyā/illusion
• मायाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अस्मत्तः: from me/us
• अस्मत्तः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/स्त्री/नपुंसक (सर्वनाम), पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; 'from me/us'

• संभविष्यति: will arise/be born
• संभविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; addressing the Supreme Lord in doctrinal exposition)

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda (universe)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To protect the world by descending through His own māyā while remaining the unborn source of all creation.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Right understanding that the Lord is the cause of the cosmos and not conditioned by human birth.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord who is the source of the entire jagat cannot be produced from beings; His manifestation is only through His own māyā.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Question egoic ownership and causal claims about the Divine; contemplate the Lord as the independent cause behind all causes.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms Vishnu as the independent jagat-kāraṇa whose māyā/śakti enables manifestation without compromising His transcendence.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Maya

FAQs

What is the significance of Māyā in this verse of the Vishnu Purana?

Māyā is presented as the Lord’s own power by which the universe manifests; without invoking that divine potency, it is illogical to claim the Supreme could “arise” from created beings.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the origin of the universe here?

He frames a logical reversal: since all arises from Jagannātha, the Lord cannot be an effect produced by us; creation proceeds from Him through His power, not the other way around.

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

Vishnu is affirmed as the independent Supreme Reality (the causal source of all), whose sovereignty and creative agency (Māyā) ground the existence of the cosmos.