Shloka 66

अर्जुनस्य अन्त्येष्टि, द्वारकाप्लावनम्, कलिप्रवेशः, कालोपदेशः

Devanagari script

स देवो ऽन्यशरीराणि समाविश्य जगत्स्थितिम् करोति सर्वभूतानां नाशं चान्ते जगत्पतिः

Transliteration

sa devo 'nyaśarīrāṇi samāviśya jagatsthitim karoti sarvabhūtānāṃ nāśaṃ cānte jagatpatiḥ

Translation

That very God—the Lord of the universe—enters into other bodies and thus upholds the world’s continuance; and at the end, He brings about the dissolution of all beings.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — ‘he’

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Apposition to subject (सम्बोधन/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — ‘god’

• अन्यशरीराणि: other bodies
• अन्यशरीराणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक) + शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन — ‘other bodies’

• समाविश्य: having entered
• समाविश्य: Kriyā-samānādhikaraṇa (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-विश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्ययभाव — ‘having entered’

• जगत्स्थितिम्: the world’s continuance
• जगत्स्थितिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘the maintenance/state of the world’

• करोति: brings about
• करोति: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — ‘does/makes’

• सर्वभूतानाम्: of all beings
• सर्वभूतानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन — ‘of all beings’

• नाशम्: destruction
• नाशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘destruction’

• च: and
• च: Connector (Samuccaya/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — समुच्चय ‘and’

• अन्ते: at the end
• अन्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन — ‘at the end’

• जगत्पतिः: the Lord of the world
• जगत्पतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — ‘lord of the world’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the Lord governs the world-process—maintenance through pervasion and dissolution at the end

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord sustains the cosmos by entering all bodies as Antaryāmin and withdraws it at the end, causing dissolution.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Contemplate the divine indweller in all beings to cultivate reverence, non-violence, and inner steadiness amid change.

Vishishtadvaita: Antaryāmin doctrine: Viṣṇu is immanent within real selves and matter, sustaining them while remaining their supreme ruler

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of Vishnu “entering other bodies” in the Vishnu Purana?

It expresses Vishnu as the indwelling ruler (antaryāmin) who pervades living beings and cosmic forms, enabling the world’s stability and ordered functioning.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the cycle of sustenance and dissolution here?

Parāśara states that the same Supreme Lord sustains the universe by pervading its embodied forms, and at the appointed end of the cosmic cycle He withdraws that support, resulting in dissolution.

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

Vishnu is presented as the Supreme Reality who is both immanent (present within all bodies) and transcendent (the sovereign who initiates pralaya), grounding Vaishnava cosmology in divine lordship.