Shloka 28

Devanagari script

योषिच् छुश्रूषणं भर्तुः कर्मणा मनसा गिरा कुर्वती समवाप्नोति तत्सालोक्यं यतो द्विजाः

Transliteration

yoṣic chuśrūṣaṇaṃ bhartuḥ karmaṇā manasā girā kurvatī samavāpnoti tatsālokyaṃ yato dvijāḥ

Translation

O twice-born ones, a wife who serves her husband with diligent care—through deed, through thought, and through speech—attains sālokya, the holy nearness within the Lord’s realm, for such devoted service becomes her sacred path.

Word by Word

• योषित्: a woman
• योषित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योषित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• शुश्रूषणम्: service; attentive obedience
• शुश्रूषणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुश्रूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• भर्तुः: of (her) husband
• भर्तुः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• कर्मणा: by action
• कर्मणा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• मनसा: by mind
• मनसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• गिरा: by speech
• गिरा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• कुर्वती: doing; performing
• कुर्वती: Karta (Agent-participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान-कृदन्त (present active participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि

• समवाप्नोति: attains
• समवाप्नोति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+अव+आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• तत्सालोक्यम्: that same world/abode (co-residence)
• तत्सालोक्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + सालोक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध-तत्पुरुष (that one's/that deity's co-residence)

• यतः: because
• यतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (causal: 'because')

• द्विजाः: O twice-born
• द्विजाः: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative sense in context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थेऽपि (often used in address)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya; addressing the dvijas within the teaching)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Strī-dharma: devoted service to the husband as a means to sālokya (proximity in the Lord’s realm)

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: compassionate

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Single-minded service—by body, mind, and speech—performed in one’s dharmic station becomes a salvific means leading to sālokya, a state of nearness to the Lord.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Sanctify daily duties through integrity, kindness, and God-remembrance; practice ‘kāyena manasā vācā’ alignment so actions, intentions, and words converge in devotion.

Vishishtadvaita: Embodies śeṣatva (the self as servant) and shows that embodied dharma, when devotionally oriented, becomes a real means to the Lord’s realm—immanent grace within worldly roles.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Dvijas
• Husband (as dharmic focus)
• Sālokya (Vaishnava liberation concept)

FAQs

What is the significance of sālokya in this Vishnu Purana verse?

Sālokya here denotes a Vaishnava form of liberation—dwelling in the Lord’s realm—presented as attainable through steadfast, threefold (deed-thought-speech) devotional duty within household life.

How does Sage Parāśara explain righteous conduct for householders in this context?

Parāśara frames dharma as an integrated discipline: action, intention, and speech must align; for a wife, devoted service to her husband is described as a legitimate soteriological path that yields exalted spiritual fruit.

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

Even when the verse speaks in social-ethical terms, the goal is explicitly transcendental—proximity to the Lord’s world—reflecting Vishnu as the supreme refuge and final end of dharma and liberation.