Shloka 62

कालियदमना: यमुनाशुद्धिः, करुणा-निग्रहः, स्तुति-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

एकावयवसूक्ष्मांशो यस्यैतद् अखिलं जगत् कल्पनावयवांशस्य तं स्तोष्यामि कथं त्व् अहम्

Transliteration

ekāvayavasūkṣmāṃśo yasyaitad akhilaṃ jagat kalpanāvayavāṃśasya taṃ stoṣyāmi kathaṃ tv aham

Translation

This entire universe is but a minute portion of a single fragment of Him—indeed, only a subtle part of a part conceived by thought. How could I ever offer fitting praise to that Supreme Viṣṇu?

Word by Word

• eka: single/one
• eka: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-पूर्वपद (पूर्वनिपात), समासपूर्वाङ्ग; अर्थतः 'एक' (one)

• avayava: part, limb, component
• avayava: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avayava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग)

• sūkṣma: subtle
• sūkṣma: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sūkṣma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग), 'सूक्ष्म' (subtle)

• aṃśaḥ: a subtle fraction/portion (of a single part)
• aṃśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—एक-अवयव-सूक्ष्म-अंशः (षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रधान तत्पुरुषसमास-समाहारः)

• yasya: of whom/whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• etat: this
• etat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; 'एतत्' (this)

• akhilam: entire
• akhilam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akhila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; 'अखिल' (entire)

• jagat: world, universe
• jagat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• kalpanā: imagination, conception
• kalpanā: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग)

• avayava: part, component
• avayava: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avayava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग)

• aṃśasya: of the portion that is a component of (mere) conception
• aṃśasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; समासः—कल्पना-अवयव-अंशस्य (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• tam: him
• tam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• stoṣyāmi: I will praise
• stoṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: stu (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Future/लृट्), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person/उत्तम), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• katham: how
• katham: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नाव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थ

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing the Supreme Lord Vishnu while instructing Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The universe is only an imagined, infinitesimal ‘part of a part’ of the Supreme, making complete description or praise inherently inadequate.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Cultivate humility in spiritual speech and practice; let awe at the Infinite soften ego and deepen reverence in prayer and study.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms the Lord’s immeasurable greatness while implying the cosmos depends upon Him (as His mode), even if ‘part’ language is only conceptual.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of describing the universe as a tiny ‘portion’ of the Lord in the Vishnu Purana?

It asserts Vishnu’s absolute supremacy: the cosmos is not equal to Him but dependent on Him, existing as an infinitesimal expression relative to His infinite reality.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the limits of praising the Supreme?

By stating that even the idea of the Lord having ‘parts’ is a mental construct (kalpanā), Parāśara shows that language and thought cannot fully measure or describe the transcendent Vishnu.

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

Vishnu is presented as Para Brahman—so vast that creation is only a subtle, conceptual fraction—supporting Vaishnava doctrine of divine sovereignty and the dependence of the world on the Supreme.