Shloka 24

भाण्डीरवट-क्रीडा: प्रलम्बासुरवधः, मानुष्यलीला, एक-कारण-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

स्मराशेषजगन्नाथ कारणं कारणाग्रजम् आत्मानम् एकं तद्वच् च जगत्य् एकार्णवे च यत्

Transliteration

smarāśeṣajagannātha kāraṇaṃ kāraṇāgrajam ātmānam ekaṃ tadvac ca jagaty ekārṇave ca yat

Translation

Remember the Lord of all worlds—the Cause, the One who is prior to every cause—the single Self. For when, at dissolution, the universe becomes a single ocean, that same Reality remains as that One alone.

Word by Word

• स्मर: remember
• स्मर: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — Imperative, 2nd person, Singular

• अशेष-जगत्-नाथ: O lord of the entire world
• अशेष-जगत्-नाथ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक) + जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कारणम्: the cause
• कारणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कारण-अग्रजम्: the prior to (all) causes; primeval
• कारण-अग्रजम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्रज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative, Singular; विशेषण (qualifying आत्मानम्/कारणम्)

• आत्मानम्: the Self
• आत्मानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• एकम्: one; single
• एकम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative, Singular; विशेषण (qualifying आत्मानम्)

• तद्वत्: likewise; in the same way
• तद्वत्: Avyaya (Comparative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय/तद्धितान्त)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative indeclinable: 'like that')

• च: and
• च: Avyaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• जगति: in the world
• जगति: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन — Neuter, Locative, Singular

• एक-अर्णवे: in the single ocean (cosmic waters)
• एक-अर्णवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन — Masculine, Locative, Singular; 'in the single ocean (cosmic flood)'

• च: and
• च: Avyaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• यत्: which; that which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन — Neuter, Nom./Acc., Singular; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda (universe)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To reveal that the cowherd Lord is identical with the supreme Cause who remains one when the cosmos dissolves into the single ocean.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Metaphysical order: establishing Vishnu’s supremacy as the sole enduring reality beyond cosmic dissolution.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Vishnu is the cause prior to all causes and the single Self who alone remains when the universe collapses into the one ocean at pralaya.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Practice ‘smaraṇa’ (remembrance) of the Supreme as the stable ground amid change—use impermanence as a cue for devotion and detachment.

Vishishtadvaita: Jagat as real but dependent mode (prakāra) of Brahman: the universe resolves, yet the Lord as its material-and-efficient cause remains; devotion is grounded in His absolute sovereignty.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of ekārṇava (the single ocean) in the Vishnu Purana?

It is a Pralaya image: when differentiated creation withdraws, the cosmos is described as one undivided expanse of waters, while Vishnu alone remains as the sustaining Reality.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the Lord as 'kāraṇāgraja' (prior to causes)?

He presents Vishnu as not merely one cause among others, but as the transcendent ground from which all causal chains arise—earlier than every secondary cause within creation.

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

Vishnu is affirmed as the one Self and supreme sovereign who persists through dissolution, anchoring Vaishnava metaphysics where the Lord is the ultimate basis of cosmos and liberation.