Shloka 40

कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना

Devanagari script

अशास्त्रविहितं घोरं तप्यमानेषु वै तपः नरेषु नृपदोषेण बालमृत्युर् भविष्यति

Transliteration

aśāstravihitaṃ ghoraṃ tapyamāneṣu vai tapaḥ nareṣu nṛpadoṣeṇa bālamṛtyur bhaviṣyati

Translation

When people undertake fierce austerities not sanctioned by the śāstras, then, through the king’s fault, untimely death of children will arise among men.

Word by Word

• अशास्त्रविहितम्: not prescribed by scripture
• अशास्त्रविहितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-शास्त्र-विहित (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + शास्त्र + विहित)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) ‘विहित’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः नञ्-तत्पुरुषः (शास्त्रेण न विहितम्); ‘तपः’ इति विशेषणम्

• घोरम्: terrible
• घोरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘तपः’ इति विशेषणम्

• तप्यमानेषु: while being performed/undergoing (austerity)
• तप्यमानेषु: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तप् (धातु) → तप्यमान (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शानच्/Present passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘नरेषु’ इति विशेषणम्

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; अवधारण/खल्वर्थ (emphatic particle)

• तपः: austerity/penance
• तपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नरेषु: among men
• नरेषु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नृपदोषेण: due to the king's fault
• नृपदोषेण: Hetu/Karana (Cause/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप-दोष (प्रातिपदिक; नृप + दोष)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नृपस्य दोषः)

• बालमृत्युः: child-death/infant mortality
• बालमृत्युः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल-मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक; बाल + मृत्यु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषः (बालस्य मृत्युḥ = बालमृत्युḥ)

• भविष्यति: will occur/will be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Kali-yuga social-religious distortions and their consequences

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Austerity divorced from śāstra becomes destructive, and when kings fail in rāja-dharma society suffers grievous calamities like untimely child-death.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Choose disciplined practice under scriptural and teacher guidance; uphold civic responsibility and protect the vulnerable.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma as the Lord’s ordinance (ājñā) safeguards embodied souls; violating it injures the Lord’s ‘body’—the world of sentient beings.

Characters & Entities

• Kings
• People (nara)
• Śāstra (scriptural law)

FAQs

What is the significance of śāstra-approved tapas in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse treats tapas as beneficial only when aligned with śāstra; otherwise, severe, unscriptural austerity becomes a source of disorder and harm rather than purification.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the king’s role in collective suffering?

Parāśara links public calamities to nṛpadoṣa—failure of governance—implying that the ruler’s neglect of dharma ripples into social and even familial tragedy.

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

Implicitly, Vishnu is the ground of dharma and cosmic sovereignty; when governance and conduct depart from rightful order, suffering manifests—signaling deviation from the divine order Vishnu sustains.