Shloka 53

अर्जुनस्य अन्त्येष्टि, द्वारकाप्लावनम्, कलिप्रवेशः, कालोपदेशः

Devanagari script

निःश्रीकता न मे चित्रं यज् जीवामि तद् अद्भुतम् नीचावमानपङ्काङ्की निर्लज्जो ऽस्मि पितामह

Transliteration

niḥśrīkatā na me citraṃ yaj jīvāmi tad adbhutam nīcāvamānapaṅkāṅkī nirlajjo 'smi pitāmaha

Translation

That I have been stripped of fortune does not amaze me; what amazes me is that I still live. Smeared with the mire of low disgrace and humiliation, I remain shamelessly alive—O Grandfather.

Word by Word

• निःश्रीकता: poverty/being without splendor
• निःश्रीकता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निःश्रीक (प्रातिपदिक) + ता (तद्धित/भाव)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भाववाचक-नाम

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (particle of negation)

• मे: to me/of me
• मे: Genitive relation (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6/4), एकवचन; एन्क्लिटिक रूप

• चित्रम्: strange, surprising
• चित्रम्: Predicate (विशेष्य-विशेषण/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (अद्भुत/आश्चर्य)

• यत्: that (since/that which)
• यत्: Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-प्रत्ययार्थे अव्ययवत्; यत्-तत्-सम्बन्ध (relative particle)

• जीवामि: I live
• जीवामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जीव् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष? actually उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

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

• अद्भुतम्: wonderful, astonishing
• अद्भुतम्: Predicate (विशेष्य-विशेषण/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अद्भुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• नीचावमानपङ्काङ्की: marked with the mire of base humiliation
• नीचावमानपङ्काङ्की: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नीच (प्रातिपदिक) + अवमान (प्रातिपदिक) + पङ्क (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्किन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (नीच-अवमान-रूपेण पङ्केन अङ्कितः)

• निर्लज्जः: shameless
• निर्लज्जः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्लज्ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• अस्मि: I am
• अस्मि: Kriya (Copula/अस्ति-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पितामह: O grandsire
• पितामह: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

Speaker

A distressed descendant/king addressing his grandfather (pitāmaha) within the dynastic narrative (reported by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya).

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The emotional and moral collapse of heroes after Kṛṣṇa’s withdrawal

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: compassionate

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Worldly glory and ‘fortune’ (śrī) are unstable; when the supporting grace is gone, even life itself can feel like a burden, urging humility and detachment.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Use reversals and humiliation as prompts to reduce ego, reassess dependence on status, and deepen inner surrender and steadiness.

Vishishtadvaita: Śrī (Lakṣmī) as Bhagavān’s inseparable auspicious power is implicitly contrasted with ‘niḥśrīkatā’—loss of fortune when divine favor is withdrawn.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Characters & Entities

• Pitāmaha (grandfather/forefather)
• Kings

FAQs

What is the significance of disgrace and humiliation in this Vishnu Purana verse?

The verse frames dishonor as a moral and existential crisis: the speaker is less shocked by loss of fortune than by his continued life while stained by humiliation, highlighting the Purāṇic concern for dignity, dharma, and the consequences of one’s actions.

How does Sage Parāśara explain human suffering in the dynastic sections of the Vishnu Purana?

Through genealogy-linked episodes, Parāśara presents suffering as intertwined with conduct, fate, and dharma—using royal lives as instructive examples for how honor, downfall, and endurance unfold across generations.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s dynastic narratives operate under Vishnu’s sovereign order: worldly rise and fall occur within a divinely governed moral cosmos, urging alignment with dharma and devotion rather than mere status.