Shloka 11

पारिजातहरणम्, द्वारकाप्रवेशः, षोडशसहस्रविवाहः

Pārijāta, Return to Dvārakā, and the Lord’s Many Forms

Devanagari script

यम् अभ्येत्य जनः सर्वो जातिं स्मरति पौर्विकीम् वास्यते यस्य पुष्पोत्थगन्धेनोर्वी त्रियोजनम्

Transliteration

yam abhyetya janaḥ sarvo jātiṃ smarati paurvikīm vāsyate yasya puṣpotthagandhenorvī triyojanam

Translation

Approaching it, every person recalls his former state of birth; and by the fragrance rising from its blossoms, the earth for three yojanas around is perfumed.

Word by Word

• यम्: whom/which
• यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• अभ्येत्य: having approached
• अभ्येत्य: Kriya-visheshaṇa (पूर्वक्रिया/Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-इ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund), धातु: अभि-इ (to approach)

• जनः: a person/people
• जनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• सर्वः: every
• सर्वः: Karta (Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier of जनः)

• जातिम्: (one’s) birth/state/caste
• जातिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• स्मरति: remembers
• स्मरति: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• पौर्विकीम्: former/previous
• पौर्विकीम्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पौर्विकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (जातिम्)

• वास्यते: is perfumed/is scented
• वास्यते: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वा (धातु) [णिच् causative: वासय-]
• Form: लट् (Present), कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: वासय् (to perfume/scent)

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• पुष्पोत्थगन्धेन: by the fragrance arising from (its) flowers
• पुष्पोत्थगन्धेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्प (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्थ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + गन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (पुष्पात् उत्थः गन्धः)

• उर्वी: the earth
• उर्वी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उर्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• त्रियोजनम्: three yojanas (in extent)
• त्रियोजनम्: Karma (Extent/measure as object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (त्रीणि योजनानि प्रमाणम्)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To manifest divine potency in the world so that beings are uplifted through contact with sacred, heaven-born realities brought under dharma.

Leela: Moksha-dana

Dharma Restored: Remembrance of higher identity and purification through divine presence

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Contact with the divine (darśana and proximity to sacred presence) awakens latent memory and purifies the mind and environment.

Vedantic Theme: Atman

Application: Seek regular darśana, sacred sound, and sanctified spaces that elevate memory, character, and atmosphere.

Vishishtadvaita: Grace operates through real material media (a sacred tree, fragrance), showing the world as a meaningful mode of Bhagavān rather than mere illusion.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of remembering one’s former birth (jāti-smṛti) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse links proximity to a sacred, divinely charged locus with jāti-smṛti—suggesting that purity and contact with sanctified order can awaken deeper layers of consciousness and karmic memory.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the power of sacred places in this chapter?

Through tangible signs—like fragrance spreading for three yojanas—Parāśara depicts sacred geography as an outward expression of inner spiritual potency that transforms the mind of those who approach.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic worldview treats such sanctity as rooted in Vishnu’s sustaining sovereignty—where cosmic order manifests as places and phenomena that elevate memory, insight, and dharma.