Shloka 27

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

Devanagari script

सहस्रवक्त्रो हि भवान् महात्मा सहस्रहस्ताङ्घ्रिशरीरभेदः सहस्रपद्मोद्भवयोनिर् आद्यः सहस्रशस् त्वां मुनयो गृणन्ति

Transliteration

sahasravaktro hi bhavān mahātmā sahasrahastāṅghriśarīrabhedaḥ sahasrapadmodbhavayonir ādyaḥ sahasraśas tvāṃ munayo gṛṇanti

Translation

O great-souled Lord, You are the Thousand-Faced One—of countless forms, with innumerable hands and feet. You are the primal source from whom a thousand lotus-born worlds arise; thus the sages sing Your praise in a thousand ways.

Word by Word

• सहस्रवक्त्रः: one with a thousand faces
• सहस्रवक्त्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र + वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः: यस्य सहस्रं वक्त्राणि सः

• हि: indeed
• हि: Modifier (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• भवान्: you (honored)
• भवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; आदरार्थक सर्वनाम (honorific ‘you’)

• महात्मा: great-souled one
• महात्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: महान् आत्मा यस्य सः

• सहस्रहस्ताङ्घ्रिशरीरभेदः: having thousand hands, feet, and bodily forms
• सहस्रहस्ताङ्घ्रिशरीरभेदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र + हस्त + अङ्घ्रि + शरीर + भेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः: यस्य सहस्रं हस्ताः अङ्घ्रयः शरीरभेदाश्च सः

• सहस्रपद्मोद्भवयोनिः: whose origins arise from a thousand lotuses
• सहस्रपद्मोद्भवयोनिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र + पद्म + उद्भव + योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः: यस्य सहस्रपद्मोद्भवाः योनयः (origins) सः

• आद्यः: primeval, first
• आद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• सहस्रशः: in thousands / repeatedly
• सहस्रशः: Modifier (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/परिमाणवाचक अव्यय (in thousands, many times)

• त्वाम्: you
• त्वाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• मुनयः: sages
• मुनयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• गृणन्ति: praise
• गृणन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; √गृ (स्तुति/गायने) = praise/sing

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating a stotra/hymnic description within his teaching to Maitreya)

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord is beginningless first cause with infinite forms, worthy of ceaseless praise by sages.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Adopt nāma-stuti and contemplative praise as a daily discipline, holding the divine as the ground of all worlds.

Vishishtadvaita: Infinite auspicious attributes and forms (ananta-kalyāṇa-guṇa) belong to the one Supreme, who is the causal source of plural worlds.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Sages (Munis)

FAQs

What is the significance of the 'thousand-faced' (sahasravaktra) description in the Vishnu Purana?

It conveys Vishnu’s viśvarūpa—His limitless, all-pervading presence—showing that all forms and powers in the cosmos are encompassed within the Supreme Lord.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the Lord’s role as the source of creation in this verse?

By calling Him ādya (primordial) and the yoni (source) from whom “lotus-born” creations arise, Parāśara frames Vishnu as the first cause from whom the manifested universe proceeds.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here for Vaishnava philosophy?

The verse presents Vishnu as the Supreme Reality worthy of continual praise by sages—transcendent yet immanent in countless forms—supporting a theistic view where the Absolute is personal and sovereign.