Shloka 16

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

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

Devanagari script

मूर्च्छाम् अवाप्य महतीं संस्पृष्टो बाह्यवायुना विज्ञानभ्रंशम् आप्नोति जातश् च मुनिसत्तम

Transliteration

mūrcchām avāpya mahatīṃ saṃspṛṣṭo bāhyavāyunā vijñānabhraṃśam āpnoti jātaś ca munisattama

Translation

When one is struck by a great swoon, and the outward-moving vital air comes into contact (with the body and senses), the clarity of understanding collapses—thus is confusion of consciousness produced, O best of sages.

Word by Word

• मूर्च्छाम्: fainting, swoon
• मूर्च्छाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्च्छा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• अवाप्य: having obtained
• अवाप्य: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial to main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव्+आप् (धातु) → अवाप्य (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (ल्यप्), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया — Gerund (having obtained)

• महतीम्: great, intense
• महतीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative, Singular; विशेषणम् (मूर्च्छाम्)

• संस्पृष्टः: touched, contacted
• संस्पृष्टः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+स्पृश् (धातु) → संस्पृष्ट (क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Past passive participle; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बाह्यवायुना: by the external wind/air
• बाह्यवायुना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाह्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वायु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन — Masculine, Instrumental, Singular; समासः कर्मधारयः (बाह्यः वायुः)

• विज्ञानभ्रंशम्: loss of consciousness/understanding
• विज्ञानभ्रंशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक) + भ्रंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative, Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (विज्ञानस्य भ्रंशः)

• आप्नोति: attains, undergoes
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Present indicative, 3rd person singular

• जातः: born, having become
• जातः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) → जात (क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Past participle; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय — Conjunction (and)

• मुनिसत्तम: O best of sages
• मुनिसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुनीनां सत्तमः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Nature of embodied suffering and the collapse of discernment under physiological and karmic conditions (as groundwork for vairagya and liberation).

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When prāṇa and the senses are disturbed, vijñāna (clear discriminative awareness) collapses, revealing the unreliability of embodied cognition.

Vedantic Theme: Atman

Application: Cultivate steadiness through disciplined breath, sense-restraint, and remembrance of the Self so insight is not hostage to bodily fluctuations.

Vishishtadvaita: The jīva’s knowledge is a dependent attribute (dharma-bhūta-jñāna) that contracts/expands under conditions, underscoring its śeṣatva (dependence) rather than sovereignty.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Vāyu (vital air)

FAQs

What is the significance of prāṇa (vāyu) and fainting (mūrcchā) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse links an intense swoon with disturbance of the vital airs, explaining how cognition can collapse when the outward-moving vāyu dominates, leading to confusion and loss of discernment.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the loss of understanding (vijñāna-bhraṃśa)?

Parāśara describes it as an effect that arises when the external/outward vāyu contacts and agitates embodied awareness, producing a break in steady knowledge and discrimination.

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

By diagnosing how consciousness becomes obscured, the teaching supports the Vaishnava aim of stabilizing discernment so the seeker can orient mind and devotion toward Vishnu as the supreme ground of order and liberation.