Shloka 30

पौण्ड्रक-वधः, कृत्या-प्रशमनम्, वाराणसी-दाहः

Devanagari script

अविमुक्ते महाक्षेत्रे तोषितस् तेन शंकरः वरं वृणीष्वेति तदा तं प्रोवाच नृपात्मजम्

Transliteration

avimukte mahākṣetre toṣitas tena śaṃkaraḥ varaṃ vṛṇīṣveti tadā taṃ provāca nṛpātmajam

Translation

In Avimukta, the great and holy kṣetra, Śaṅkara—pleased by him—then spoke to the prince: “Choose a boon.”

Word by Word

• अविमुक्ते: in Avimukta (place)
• अविमुक्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविमुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक (locative of place)

• महाक्षेत्रे: in the great sacred field
• महाक्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः महत्+क्षेत्र (विशेषण-विशेष्य)

• तोषितः: pleased
• तोषितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुष् (धातु) → तोषित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘शंकरः’ इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• तेन: by him/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• शंकरः: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• शंकरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• वरम्: a boon
• वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• वृणीष्व: choose (ask for)
• वृणीष्व: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative/आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• प्रोवाच: said (addressed)
• प्रोवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्गः प्र-

• नृपात्मजम्: the king’s son
• नृपात्मजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप+आत्मज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नृपस्य आत्मजः)

Speaker

Narrator (traditionally Sage Parāśara) reporting Śaṅkara’s words within the narrative

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

• Avimukta (Kṣetra)
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• nṛpātmaja (a prince/king’s son)

FAQs

What is the significance of Avimukta Mahākṣetra in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames Avimukta as a uniquely potent sacred region where divine presence is immediate—so much so that Śaṅkara is directly pleased and offers a boon, highlighting the kṣetra’s spiritual efficacy.

How does Sage Parāśara explain divine boons in sacred places?

By narrating that a deity becomes ‘toṣita’ (pleased) through a devotee’s conduct in a tīrtha/kṣetra and then grants a ‘vara’ (boon), Parāśara presents boons as outcomes of dharmic action and sacred context rather than mere chance.

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

Even when Śaṅkara is the immediate granter of the boon, the Vishnu Purana’s broader theology treats such events as operating within the supreme cosmic order upheld by Viṣṇu—showing coordinated divine governance rather than rivalry.