Shloka 33

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

Devanagari script

शब्दादिहीनम् अजरम् अमेयं क्षयवर्जितम् अवृद्धिनाशं तद् ब्रह्म त्वम् आद्यन्तविवर्जितम्

Transliteration

śabdādihīnam ajaram ameyaṃ kṣayavarjitam avṛddhināśaṃ tad brahma tvam ādyantavivarjitam

Translation

You are that Brahman—beyond sound and every limiting designation; unborn, immeasurable, and free from decay; untouched by growth or destruction; without beginning or end.

Word by Word

• शब्दादिहीनम्: devoid of sound and the rest
• शब्दादिहीनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शब्द + आदि + हीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुष (शब्दादिभ्यः हीनम् = devoid of sound etc.)

• अजरम्: ageless
• अजरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-जर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• अमेयम्: immeasurable
• अमेयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-मेय (मा धातु/मि धातु?; ‘मेय’ as measurable; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• क्षयवर्जितम्: free from destruction
• क्षयवर्जितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षय + वर्जित (वृज्/वर्ज् धातु + क्त; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः—‘क्षयेन वर्जितम्/क्षयात् वर्जितम्’ (free from decay)

• अवृद्धिनाशम्: without increase or decline
• अवृद्धिनाशम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-वृद्धि + नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; द्वन्द्वाभास-तत्पुरुष (वृद्धि-नाशयोः अभावः)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative)

• ब्रह्म: Brahman
• ब्रह्म: Samanaadhikarana (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Samanaadhikarana (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• आद्यन्तविवर्जितम्: devoid of beginning and end
• आद्यन्तविवर्जितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आदि + अन्त + विवर्जित (वर्ज् धातु + क्त; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-तत्पुरुष (आद्यन्तयोः विवर्जितम् = devoid of beginning and end)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching/reciting within his discourse to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: As Kṛṣṇa, the Lord is praised as the beginningless, endless Brahman beyond all designations, revealing his supreme nature to devotees.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Establishing brahma-tattva beyond decay, measure, and temporal limitation.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord is that Brahman beyond sound and designation—unborn, immeasurable, undecaying, and free from beginning and end.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Practice neti-neti style contemplation: withdraw identification from names, measures, and change, and rest awareness in the Lord’s changeless reality.

Vishishtadvaita: The ‘tad brahma tvam’ identification is read as Bhagavān-Kṛṣṇa being Brahman itself, supporting a personal Brahman rather than an abstract impersonal absolute.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Brahman
• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of describing Brahman as ‘beyond sound’ in the Vishnu Purana?

It signals that the Supreme (identified with Vishnu) transcends speech, names, and sensory categories—so ordinary description cannot fully contain His reality.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of the unborn and immeasurable Absolute?

By stating that the Supreme is ajara and ameya—unborn/unchanging and beyond measurement—Parāśara frames Brahman as not subject to time, quantity, or physical limitation.

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

The verse equates the Supreme Brahman with the addressed Lord (Vishnu), presenting Him as the ultimate, beginningless reality underlying creation while remaining untouched by decay or destruction.