Shloka 26

नैमित्तिक-प्राकृत-प्रलयवर्णनम्

Periodic and Elemental Dissolution; Reabsorption into Paramātman

Devanagari script

परिमण्डलं तत् सुषिरम् आकाशं शब्दलक्षणम् शब्दमात्रं तदाकाशं सर्वम् आवृत्य तिष्ठति

Transliteration

parimaṇḍalaṃ tat suṣiram ākāśaṃ śabdalakṣaṇam śabdamātraṃ tadākāśaṃ sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati

Translation

That element is spherical and hollow—ākāśa (ether), whose defining mark is sound. Being of the nature of sound alone, that ether stands pervading and enveloping all things.

Word by Word

• परिमण्डलम्: circular; spherical
• परिमण्डलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि + मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter, nominative/accusative singular; adjective)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (neuter nom/acc sg; pronoun)

• सुषिरम्: hollow; having cavities
• सुषिरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + शिर/सुषिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• आकाशम्: ether; space
• आकाशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (neuter nom/acc sg)

• शब्दलक्षणम्: having sound as its characteristic
• शब्दलक्षणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• शब्दमात्रम्: consisting only of sound
• शब्दमात्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (neuter nom/acc sg; pronoun)

• आकाशम्: ether
• आकाशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (neuter nom/acc sg)

• सर्वम्: all (everything)
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनामवत् (neuter nom/acc sg; ‘all’)

• आवृत्य: having covered; enveloping
• आवृत्य: Kriya (Verbal adjunct/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + √वृ (वृञ् वरणे/वृ—to cover)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वक्रिया (having covered)

• तिष्ठति: stands; remains
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (स्था गतिनिवृत्तौ)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (present indicative, 3rd sg, parasmaipada)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Nature of cosmic dissolution and reabsorption of tattvas (pratyāhāra)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda (universe)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Ākāśa is the subtle, all-pervading element characterized solely by sound, enclosing all within the cosmos.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Contemplate sensory experience (sound) as rooted in a subtler substrate, cultivating detachment from gross forms.

Vishishtadvaita: The cosmos is a real, ordered manifestation with graded subtle principles, later reabsorbed under the Supreme’s governance.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Akasha (Ether/Space)
• Shabda (Sound)

FAQs

What is the significance of ākāśa (ether) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse defines ākāśa as the all-pervading, enveloping element whose distinctive property is sound, establishing it as the foundational field in which other elements and forms are situated.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of sound (śabda) here?

Parāśara presents śabda as the sole characteristic of ākāśa—its subtle content and identifying mark—linking the element to its tanmātra-quality in the Purāṇic cosmological sequence.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the teaching functions within a Vaishnava cosmology where these elements and their qualities are ordered principles of creation ultimately grounded in Vishnu’s supreme governance of the universe.