Shloka 7

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

Devanagari script

मनुष्यधर्माभिरतौ मानयन्तौ मनुष्यताम् तज्जातिगुणयुक्ताभिः क्रीडाभिश् चेरतुर् वनम्

Transliteration

manuṣyadharmābhiratau mānayantau manuṣyatām tajjātiguṇayuktābhiḥ krīḍābhiś ceratur vanam

Translation

Delighting in the duties proper to human life and honoring the very condition of humanity, the two wandered through the forest, engaging in pastimes befitting that human kind’s qualities and customs.

Word by Word

• मनुष्यधर्माभिरतौ: devoted to human duties/ways
• मनुष्यधर्माभिरतौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मनुष्य + धर्म + अभिरत (कृदन्त; √रम् with अभि-)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘अभिरत’ = devoted; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (मनुष्यधर्मेषु अभिरतौ)

• मानयन्तौ: honouring, respecting
• मानयन्तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √मान् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; परस्मैपद-प्रयोगः

• मनुष्यताम्: humanity, human condition
• मनुष्यताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्यता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• तज्जातिगुणयुक्ताभिः: with games endowed with those (human) kinds and qualities
• तज्जातिगुणयुक्ताभिः: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् + जाति + गुण + युक्त (कृदन्त; √युज्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘युक्त’ = endowed; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (तस्य जातिगुणैः युक्ताः)

• क्रीडाभिः: with sports, games
• क्रीडाभिः: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रीडा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• चेरतुः: they roamed
• चेरतुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; परस्मैपद

• वनम्: the forest
• वनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the divine brothers behave as humans and delight in human dharma

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: didactic, appreciative of dharma

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa descends to model dharma within human society while concealing majesty through human conduct that draws intimate devotion.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Manuṣya-dharma honored and affirmed as a vehicle for devotion and social order.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even the Supreme, when incarnate, honors the constraints and duties of human life, thereby sanctifying righteous conduct.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice one’s svadharma with reverence and steadiness, seeing ethical life as compatible with—indeed supportive of—bhakti.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s immanence includes entering embodied social orders without loss of transcendence, making dharma a mode of service to Him.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

FAQs

What is the significance of manuṣya-dharma (human duty) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights that even within extraordinary Purāṇic narratives, characters are portrayed as upholding human codes of conduct—showing that dharma sustains order and legitimacy in the world-story.

How does Sage Parāśara frame behavior and social identity (jāti-guṇa) here?

He describes the pair as acting in ways consistent with their assumed human condition—“endowed with the qualities of that kind”—emphasizing outward conduct aligned with role, custom, and ethical norms.

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

Though Vishnu is not named in this verse, the Purāṇic worldview it reflects is Vaishnava: worldly order (dharma, proper conduct, and social harmony) operates under the sovereign supervision of the Supreme Reality, Vishnu.