Shloka 13

आत्यन्तिक-लयहेतुः: तापत्रय-विवेचनम् तथा ‘भगवान्/वासुदेव’ शब्दार्थः

Threefold Suffering and the Path to Final Liberation; Meaning of Bhagavān and Vāsudeva

Devanagari script

निरुच्छ्वासः सचैतन्यः स्मरञ् जन्मशतान्य् अथ आस्ते गर्भे ऽतिदुःखेन निजकर्मनिबन्धनः

Transliteration

nirucchvāsaḥ sacaitanyaḥ smarañ janmaśatāny atha āste garbhe 'tiduḥkhena nijakarmanibandhanaḥ

Translation

Breathless, yet conscious, remembering hundreds of former births, the being remains within the womb in extreme anguish—bound fast by the fetters of its own deeds.

Word by Word

• निर्: without, out
• निर्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: निर् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्ग (prefix)

• उच्छ्वासः: breath, exhalation (here: breathless)
• उच्छ्वासः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उच्छ्वास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: निर्-उच्छ्वासः (breathless)

• स: with
• स: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश)
• Form: सह/सम्-अर्थक उपपद (prefix-like: 'with')

• चैतन्यः: consciousness (here: conscious)
• चैतन्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चैतन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; कर्मधारय: स-चैतन्यः (possessing consciousness)

• स्मरन्: remembering
• स्मरन्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Concomitant action)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; क्रियासहचर (concomitant participle)

• जन्म: birth
• जन्म: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (stem in compound)

• शतानि: hundreds
• शतानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास: जन्मशतानि (hundreds of births)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थक/समुच्चय (then/and)

• आस्ते: sits, remains
• आस्ते: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• गर्भे: in the womb
• गर्भे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण) एकवचन

• अति: very
• अति: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्ग/अतिशयार्थक

• दुःखेन: with great suffering
• दुःखेन: Karaṇa (Manner/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण) एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (instrumental of manner)

• निज: one's own
• निज: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (stem in compound)

• कर्म: deed, action
• कर्म: Sambandha (Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (stem in compound)

• निबन्धनः: bound by (as a cause)
• निबन्धनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निबन्धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: निजकर्म-निबन्धनः (bound/caused by one's own karma)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Why beings remain bound to saṃsāra and how karmic bondage operates even before birth

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The conscious jīva, remembering many births, suffers in the womb due to its own karma, revealing saṃsāra as self-forged bondage.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Use remembrance of life’s recurring patterns to cultivate discernment (viveka) and commit to sādhana that weakens karmic tendencies.

Vishishtadvaita: Karma binds the real jīva; liberation requires the Lord’s saving relation (śeṣa-śeṣi-bhāva), not mere negation of the self.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Jiva (embodied soul)
• Karma

FAQs

What is the significance of suffering in the womb (garbha-duḥkha) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse uses womb-suffering to highlight how saṃsāra is intrinsically painful and how the jīva is constrained by its own karmic results even before birth.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the role of karma in rebirth here?

Parāśara states that the being remains bound specifically by nija-karma—its own deeds—showing rebirth and suffering are governed by moral causality rather than chance.

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

By emphasizing karmic bondage and the jīva’s helpless suffering, the passage implicitly frames liberation as requiring the Supreme Lord’s grace and right knowledge—central to Vaiṣṇava soteriology.