Shloka 3

नैमित्तिक-प्राकृत-प्रलयवर्णनम्

Periodic and Elemental Dissolution; Reabsorption into Paramātman

Devanagari script

सर्वभूतमयो ऽचिन्त्यो भगवान् भूतभावनः अनादिर् आदिर् विश्वस्य पीत्वा वायुम् अशेषतः

Transliteration

sarvabhūtamayo 'cintyo bhagavān bhūtabhāvanaḥ anādir ādir viśvasya pītvā vāyum aśeṣataḥ

Translation

The Blessed Lord—pervading all beings, inconceivable, the sustainer of life, without beginning yet the first cause of the universe—drank in the wind entirely, without remainder.

Word by Word

• सर्वभूतमयः: consisting of all beings
• सर्वभूतमयः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व-भूत-मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां भूतानां मयः/मयः = consisting of)

• अचिन्त्यः: inconceivable
• अचिन्त्यः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-चिन्त्य (√चिन्त्, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive sense: 'not to be conceived'), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• भगवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• भूतभावनः: nourisher/producer of beings
• भूतभावनः: Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत-भावन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (भूतानां भावनः = creator/nourisher)

• अनादिः: beginningless
• अनादिः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (भगवान्)

• आदिः: the origin
• आदिः: Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; समानााधिकरणे (भगवान्)

• विश्वस्य: of the universe
• विश्वस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• पीत्वा: having drunk/absorbed
• पीत्वा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (Gerund/Absolutive)

• वायुम्: the wind
• वायुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• अशेषतः: completely
• अशेषतः: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अशेषतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/परिमाणवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (entirely, without remainder)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Nature of the Supreme Lord during dissolution

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Bhagavān is all-pervading and inconceivable—beginningless yet the first cause—who can reabsorb even the cosmic wind into Himself.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Meditate on the Lord as the inner ruler present in all beings; let this stabilize the mind amid change.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms immanence (sarvabhūtamaya) without denying transcendence (acintya), central to qualified non-dualism.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Vayu (wind principle)

FAQs

What is the significance of absorbing Vāyu (wind) in the Vishnu Purana?

It signals the Lord’s complete mastery over the elements during pralaya, where the cosmos is withdrawn and the elemental functions (like wind/breath) are reabsorbed into the Supreme.

How does Sage Parāśara explain Vishnu’s nature in this verse?

He presents Vishnu as sarvabhūtamaya (all-pervading), acintya (beyond mental grasp), and both anādi and ādi—beginningless yet the first cause—framing dissolution as an act of divine sovereignty, not chaos.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Vishnu is affirmed as the Supreme Reality who sustains and withdraws the universe; the elements operate under Him, aligning Vaishnava cosmology with the doctrine of a personal yet transcendent Para Brahman.