Shloka 20

Devanagari script

जन्मदुःखान्य् अनेकानि जन्मनो ऽनन्तराणि च बालभावे यदाप्नोति आधिभौतादिकानि च

Transliteration

janmaduḥkhāny anekāni janmano 'nantarāṇi ca bālabhāve yadāpnoti ādhibhautādikāni ca

Translation

Many are the sorrows of birth, and many too are those that arise immediately after one is born; and in the state of infancy one undergoes sufferings of the ‘external’ order (ādhibhautika) and the rest—afflictions that attend embodied life in the world.

Word by Word

• जन्मदुःखानि: birth-sufferings
• जन्मदुःखानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Neuter, Nominative, Plural; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जन्मनः दुःखानि)

• अनेकानि: many
• अनेकानि: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनेक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Neuter, Nominative, Plural; विशेषणम् (जन्मदुःखानि)

• जन्मनः: of birth
• जन्मनः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• अनन्तराणि: immediately following
• अनन्तराणि: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Neuter, Nominative, Plural; विशेषणम् (जन्मदुःखानि)

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

• बालभावे: in childhood
• बालभावे: Adhikarana (Location/State)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक) + भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Masculine, Locative, Singular; तत्पुरुषः (बालस्य भावः)

• यदा: when
• यदा: Kala (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय — when

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

• आधिभौतादिकानि: (afflictions) beginning with the physical/external (ādhibhautika)
• आधिभौतादिकानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आधिभौतिक (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन — Neuter, Accusative, Plural; समासः (आधिभौतानि आदीनि च) तत्पुरुष-प्रायः

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

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Cataloguing the duḥkhas of birth and infancy, including ādhibhautika and related afflictions, to frame saṃsāra and the need for liberation.

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Embodiment begins in duḥkha: birth and infancy bring layered afflictions (ādhibhautika and others), revealing saṃsāra as inherently unsatisfactory.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Reflect on the universality of embodied suffering to develop compassion and dispassion, then commit to a steady sādhanā aimed at mokṣa.

Vishishtadvaita: Acknowledging real worldly suffering (not illusory dismissal) supports the Viśiṣṭādvaita turn toward the Lord’s saving grace as the means to transcend saṃsāra while honoring the reality of the world as His body.

FAQs

What is the significance of the threefold suffering (tāpa-traya) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse points to how embodied life begins with pain and continues with multiple classes of affliction—especially ādhibhautika (from other beings/elements) and related sufferings—framing samsara as a condition that calls for liberation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the human condition in early life?

Parāśara emphasizes that even infancy is not free from distress: immediately after birth one encounters successive hardships and worldly afflictions, showing that suffering is woven into embodied existence from the start.

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

By underscoring the inevitability of suffering in samsara, the teaching implicitly directs the seeker toward Vishnu as the supreme refuge and the transcendent ground beyond repeated birth.