Shloka 43

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

Devanagari script

त्वन्मायामूढमनसो जन्ममृत्युजरादिकम् अवाप्य तापान् पश्यन्ति प्रेतराजाननं नराः

Transliteration

tvanmāyāmūḍhamanaso janmamṛtyujarādikam avāpya tāpān paśyanti pretarājānanaṃ narāḥ

Translation

O Lord, men whose minds are deluded by Your māyā fall into the torments of birth, death, old age, and the like; and after enduring those burning pains, they behold the dreadful face of Yama, the king of the departed.

Word by Word

• त्वत्: of you/your
• त्वत्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• माया: illusion, māyā
• माया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (within compound sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• मूढ: deluded
• मूढ: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूढ (कृदन्त; √मुह् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा/सम्बोधन-समर्थ (as adjectival stem), बहुवचनार्थे (agreeing with मनसः in genitive plural sense)

• मनसः: of (their) minds
• मनसः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• जन्म: birth
• जन्म: Samasa-anga (compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular) (as compound member)

• मृत्यु: death
• मृत्यु: Samasa-anga (compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (as compound member)

• जरा: old age
• जरा: Samasa-anga (compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (as compound member)

• आदिकम्: and the like (etc.)
• आदिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म) (as head of compound)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); -क (taddhita-like adjectival) sense: 'etc.'

• अवाप्य: having attained/obtained
• अवाप्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √आप् (धातु) + अव- (उपसर्ग) ; ल्यप् (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-कृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), क्त्वान्त (ल्यप्)

• तापान्: sufferings, torments
• तापान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• पश्यन्ति: they see/experience
• पश्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• प्रेतराज: king of the departed (Yama)
• प्रेतराज: Samasa-anga (compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक) + राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (Genitive determinative): 'king of the departed' (Yama) (as compound member)

• आननम्: face, mouth
• आननम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• नराः: men, people
• नराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Delusion by the Lord’s māyā binds beings to the cycle of birth, death, and suffering, leading to post-mortem reckoning.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Cultivate viveka and daily self-inquiry to weaken sense-identification and remember the Lord amid life’s changes.

Vishishtadvaita: Bondage is real for the jīva under māyā, yet release depends on turning to the supreme Lord who governs karma.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Māyā
• Yama (Preta-rāja)

FAQs

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

Māyā is presented as Vishnu’s power that deludes the mind, causing beings to identify with transient conditions and thus remain bound to birth, death, and suffering.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the experience of suffering in saṃsāra here?

He frames suffering as a consequence of deluded consciousness: when the mind is clouded by māyā, one undergoes the recurring pains of embodied existence and faces Yama’s judgmental realm.

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

Vishnu is implied as the supreme governor of cosmic order—māyā and karmic consequence operate under His sovereignty, and liberation lies in turning from delusion toward Him.