Shloka 32

प्रलय-त्रिविध-विभागः एवं प्राकृतप्रलय-वर्णनम्

Devanagari script

केचिन् नीलोत्पलश्यामाः केचित् कुमुदसंनिभाः धूम्रवर्णा घनाः केचित् केचित् पीताः पयोधराः

Transliteration

kecin nīlotpalaśyāmāḥ kecit kumudasaṃnibhāḥ dhūmravarṇā ghanāḥ kecit kecit pītāḥ payodharāḥ

Translation

Some clouds are dark as blue lotuses; some gleam like white water-lilies. Some are dense and smoke-hued, and some—bearers of rain—shine yellow.

Word by Word

• केचित्: some (of them)
• केचित्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (कर्ता), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम-रूप (indefinite pronoun)

• नीलोत्पलश्यामाः: dark like a blue lotus
• नीलोत्पलश्यामाः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नील (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्पल (प्रातिपदिक) + श्याम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (कर्ता), बहुवचन; समासः: तत्पुरुष (नीलोत्पलवत् श्यामाः = dark like a blue lotus); विशेषणम् (अध्याहृत) घनाः/पयोधराः

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• कुमुदसंनिभाः: resembling a white water-lily
• कुमुदसंनिभाः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुमुद (प्रातिपदिक) + संनिभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः: तत्पुरुष (कुमुदवत् संनिभाः = resembling a water-lily)

• धूम्रवर्णाः: smoke-colored
• धूम्रवर्णाः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धूम्र (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः: कर्मधारय (धूम्रः वर्णः येषां ते = smoke-colored)

• घनाः: clouds
• घनाः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• पीताः: yellow
• पीताः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पीत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; पा धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); धातुः: पा (पिबति) / √पा; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अर्थः 'yellow' (lit. 'drunk' → conventional adjective)

• पयोधराः: rain-clouds (water-bearers)
• पयोधराः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयस् (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः: तत्पुरुष (पयः धरन्ति = bearers of water)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Multiplicity of forms and colors in nature remains structured within the Supreme’s sustaining order, even at dissolution’s threshold.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Practice seeing divine order in diversity—reducing anxiety and cultivating reverence toward the world’s changing appearances.

Vishishtadvaita: Unity-in-diversity: the many qualities and forms subsist as modes of the one Supreme reality.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Jagat Karana: Yes

FAQs

What is the significance of cloud descriptions in the Vishnu Purana?

They illustrate that even changing natural forms—like clouds of many colors—operate within a governed cosmos, reinforcing the Purana’s theme of a universe sustained by a higher order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the diversity of forms in nature?

Through concrete examples (here, cloud colors and densities), he shows nature’s multiplicity while implying an underlying unity and regulation in creation.

What is Lord Vishnu’s theological importance in this context?

Though the verse is descriptive, its Purāṇic frame presents Vishnu as the supreme sustainer whose sovereignty underlies and stabilizes the rhythms of the world, including rain and atmospheric order.