Shloka 10

हरेः पुत्रविस्तारः तथा ऊषानिरुद्धकथा-प्रारम्भः

Kṛṣṇa’s Progeny and the Beginning of the Uṣā–Aniruddha Episode

Devanagari script

एतत् सर्वं महाभाग ममाख्यातुं त्वम् अर्हसि महत् कौतूहलं जातं कथां श्रोतुम् इमां हरेः

Transliteration

etat sarvaṃ mahābhāga mamākhyātuṃ tvam arhasi mahat kautūhalaṃ jātaṃ kathāṃ śrotum imāṃ hareḥ

Translation

O noble one, you are indeed worthy to relate all this to me. A great eagerness has arisen in me—to hear this sacred account of Hari.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘एतत्’ इति विशेषण

• महाभाग: O fortunate one
• महाभाग: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (पूर्वपद) + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; संबोधन

• मम: to me / my
• मम: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive pronoun)

• आख्यातुम्: to narrate/tell
• आख्यातुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-ख्या (धातु) + तुमुन् (कृदन्त)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), क्रियार्थक; ‘अर्हसि’ इत्यस्य पूरक (complement)

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

• अर्हसि: are able/ought
• अर्हसि: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘कौतूहलम्’ इति विशेषण

• कौतूहलम्: curiosity
• कौतूहलम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौतूहल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तृस्थानी (with ‘जातम्’)

• जातम्: has arisen
• जातम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘जात’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भावे/अस्त्यर्थे (has arisen)

• कथाम्: story
• कथाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• श्रोतुम्: to hear
• श्रोतुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + तुमुन् (कृदन्त)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive); ‘कौतूहलम्’ इत्यस्य विषय (desire to hear)

• इमाम्: this
• इमाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘कथाम्’ इति विशेषण

• हरेः: of Hari
• हरेः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

Speaker

Maitreya (addressing Sage Parāśara)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: Request for full narration of the Hari-related episode, driven by eagerness to hear

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: supplicatory, receptive

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Hari’s kathā is sought because it purifies the listener and reveals the Lord’s protective interventions in the world.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Strengthening of śraddhā through hearing sacred narrative (śravaṇa)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Śravaṇa—eager hearing of Hari’s kathā from a worthy teacher—is a direct means of inner purification and devotional awakening.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Regularly listen to or study sacred texts with a receptive mind, prioritizing sincerity and continuity over novelty.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhakti expressed as śravaṇa to the personal Lord is efficacious; grace operates through narrated līlā and teacher-disciple transmission.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Vishnu)

FAQs

What is the significance of listening (śravaṇa) to Hari’s kathā in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames śravaṇa as a purposeful spiritual act—Maitreya’s intense eagerness to hear Hari’s account signals that divine history is meant to be received through attentive listening and inquiry.

How does the Parāśara–Maitreya dialogue structure shape the teaching?

Maitreya’s request authorizes Parāśara’s narration and sets a guru–disciple context where cosmology and dynastic history are presented as revelations centered on Vishnu (Hari).

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

Hari is presented as the central subject whose divine agency underlies the unfolding of sacred history—implying Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty over events, lineages, and dharma.