Shloka 32

Kālayavana’s Rise, Dvārakā’s Founding, and Muchukunda’s Awakening (Śaraṇāgati & Brahman-Stuti)

Devanagari script

बुद्धिर् अव्याकृतं प्राणाः प्राणेशस् त्वं तथा पुमान् पुंसः परतरं यच् च व्याप्य् अजन्मविकल्पवत्

Transliteration

buddhir avyākṛtaṃ prāṇāḥ prāṇeśas tvaṃ tathā pumān puṃsaḥ parataraṃ yac ca vyāpy ajanmavikalpavat

Translation

You are buddhi itself; You are the Unmanifest (avyākṛta); You are the prāṇas and the Lord of prāṇa. You are the Purusha—and also That which is beyond the purusha. Pervading all, You abide unborn, free from every conceptual division and limiting alternative.

Word by Word

• बुद्धिः: intellect
• बुद्धिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अव्याकृतम्: unmanifest, uncreated
• अव्याकृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-व्याकृत (कृ धातु + क्त, उपसर्ग वि + आ; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• प्राणाः: vital breaths
• प्राणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• प्राणेशः: lord of the prāṇas
• प्राणेशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण + ईश (प्रातिपदिक); प्राण-ईश
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (प्राणानाम् ईशः)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तथा: thus, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha/Avyaya (Modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• पुमान्: the Person (puruṣa)
• पुमान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुमांस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पुंसः: of the person
• पुंसः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुमांस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• परतरम्: higher, beyond
• परतरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तृतीय-तुलनात्मक (comparative: ‘more beyond’)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Avyaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• व्याप्य: having pervaded
• व्याप्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि-आप् (धातु) + ल्यप् (अव्ययकृदन्त)
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive) ल्यप्; ‘व्याप्य’ = व्याप्य (having pervaded)

• अजन्मविकल्पवत्: characterized by the notion of being unborn (i.e., beyond birth-concepts)
• अजन्मविकल्पवत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-जन्मन् + विकल्प + वत् (प्रातिपदिक); अजन्यम्? (अजन्मन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि/तत्पुरुष-सदृश प्रयोगः—‘अजन्म-विकल्प’ इति समासः, तद्वत् (possessing/characterized by)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: As Kṛṣṇa, the Lord receives praise as the all-pervading Para-Brahman who sustains beings and grants liberation.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Right knowledge of the Lord as the inner ruler beyond limiting conceptual divisions.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord is simultaneously intellect, unmanifest source, life-breath and its controller, pervading all while remaining unborn and beyond conceptual alternatives.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Contemplate the Lord as the indwelling controller in every function of mind and breath, reducing egoic divisions in daily perception.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms the Lord’s transcendence (unborn, beyond vikalpa) together with immanence (as buddhi and prāṇa), aligning with the śarīra-śarīrī relation.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Prana
• Pranesha
• Avyakrita

FAQs

What is the significance of calling Vishnu both buddhi and avyākṛta in the Vishnu Purana?

It presents Vishnu as both the inner faculty of knowing (buddhi) and the unmanifest ground of nature (avyākṛta), implying that consciousness and the causal basis of the cosmos are upheld and pervaded by Him.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the idea of Vishnu being 'beyond the person' (puṃsaḥ parataram)?

Parāśara frames Vishnu as the puruṣa (the conscious principle) and also as that which surpasses all limited personhood—an ultimate reality that cannot be confined to any single category of being.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu being described as 'unborn' and 'beyond vikalpa' here?

It emphasizes Vishnu’s transcendence: though He pervades all phenomena, He remains aja (unborn) and not bound by conceptual oppositions, supporting the Purana’s view of Vishnu as the sovereign, supreme foundation of all existence.