Shloka 19

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

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

Devanagari script

अशुचिप्रस्तरे सुप्तः कीटदंशादिभिस् तथा भक्ष्यमाणो ऽपि नैवैषां समर्थो विनिवारणे

Transliteration

aśuciprastare suptaḥ kīṭadaṃśādibhis tathā bhakṣyamāṇo 'pi naivaiṣāṃ samartho vinivāraṇe

Translation

As one asleep upon an impure bed—though being bitten by insects and the like, and even while being consumed—still lacks the power to ward them off, so too does the deluded being, sunk in spiritual uncleanliness, remain incapable of resisting the assaults of suffering and vice without awakening to the higher truth upheld by Vishnu.

Word by Word

• अशुचिप्रस्तरे: on an impure bed/stone-slab
• अशुचिप्रस्तरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशुचि (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रस्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Masculine, Locative, Singular; तत्पुरुषः (अशुचेः प्रस्तरः)

• सुप्तः: lying asleep
• सुप्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्वप् (धातु) → सुप्त (क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Past participle; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कीटदंशादिभिः: by insect-bites and the like
• कीटदंशादिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कीट (प्रातिपदिक) + दंश (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental, Plural; समासः (कीटदंशाः आदयः) तत्पुरुष-प्रायः

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक अव्यय — thus, likewise

• भक्ष्यमाणः: being eaten/devoured
• भक्ष्यमाणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भक्ष् (धातु) → भक्ष्यमाण (शानच्)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि कृदन्त (शानच्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Present passive participle; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — even

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय — negation (not)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Avadharana (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय — emphatic particle (indeed/just)

• एषाम्: of these
• एषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन — Pronoun; Genitive, Plural

• समर्थः: capable
• समर्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Singular; विशेषणम् (सः)

• विनिवारणे: in preventing (them)
• विनिवारणे: Vishaya/Adhikarana (Domain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वि+नि+वारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण/विषय), एकवचन — Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Analogy of spiritual sleep/impurity: without awakening to higher truth, beings cannot resist suffering and vice.

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Spiritual ‘sleep’ in impurity renders one incapable of resisting duḥkha and pāpa; awakening comes through higher truth centered on Viṣṇu.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Adopt daily practices that ‘wake’ discernment—nāma-japa, sāttvika habits, and satsanga—to reduce the bite of compulsions and suffering.

Vishishtadvaita: Liberating knowledge is not self-generated autonomy but grace-assisted awakening: the jīva, dependent and obscured, turns to the Lord as the sustaining refuge and revealer of truth.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of the ‘sleep on an impure bed’ metaphor in the Vishnu Purana?

It depicts spiritual negligence: when consciousness is ‘asleep’ in impurity (inner disorder), one cannot effectively resist pain, temptation, or decline—just as a sleeper cannot stop insects from biting.

How does Sage Parāśara explain helplessness in the face of suffering?

Parāśara frames it as a condition of ignorance: the person, dulled like one asleep, lacks the inner alertness needed to prevent afflictions and harmful impulses.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

The verse supports the Purana’s view that true awakening and order are grounded in the supreme principle upheld by Vishnu; without alignment to that higher reality, resistance to bondage remains weak.