Shloka 30

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

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

Devanagari script

कृच्छ्राच् चङ्क्रमणोत्थानशयनासनचेष्टितः मन्दीभवच्छ्रोत्रनेत्रः स्रवल्लालाविलाननः

Transliteration

kṛcchrāc caṅkramaṇotthānaśayanāsanaceṣṭitaḥ mandībhavacchrotranetraḥ sravallālāvilānanaḥ

Translation

With great difficulty he could walk, rise, lie down, sit, or even make the simplest movements. His ears and eyes grew dull, and his face was disfigured, smeared by saliva that continually dribbled forth.

Word by Word

• कृच्छ्रात्: with difficulty
• कृच्छ्रात्: Hetu/Prakara (Manner/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृच्छ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे (कृच्छ्रात् = with difficulty)

• चङ्क्रमणोत्थानशयनासनचेष्टितः: whose walking, rising, lying down, and sitting are difficult
• चङ्क्रमणोत्थानशयनासनचेष्टितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चङ्क्रमण + उत्थान + शयन + आसन + चेष्टित (प्रातिपदिक); चेष्टित (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः—द्वन्द्व (चङ्क्रमण-उत्थान-शयन-आसन) ततः कर्मधारय-भावेन चेष्टितः (those activities)

• मन्दीभवच्छ्रोत्रनेत्रः: with dulled hearing and sight
• मन्दीभवच्छ्रोत्रनेत्रः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्दीभवत् (कृदन्त) + श्रोत्र + नेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः—कर्मधारय (मन्दीभवती श्रोत्रे नेत्रे च यस्य)

• स्रवल्लालाविलाननः: with drooling saliva and a gaping mouth
• स्रवल्लालाविलाननः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्रवत् (कृदन्त) + लाला + विल + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः—कर्मधारय (स्रवति लाला, विलं आनने यस्य/विलाननः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Extreme debility in old age—loss of sensory acuity and bodily dignity—underscoring saṃsāric suffering

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When movement, senses, and even basic cleanliness fail, attachment to the body is revealed as a source of inevitable suffering.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Cultivate inner refuge through nāma-smaraṇa and steady virtue so dignity does not depend on bodily capacity.

Vishishtadvaita: True ‘selfhood’ is the jīva as dependent on the Lord; recognizing this supports surrender beyond the body’s inevitable indignities.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of describing such physical decline in the Vishnu Purana?

It underscores the Purana’s teaching on impermanence: worldly sovereignty and the body are unstable, pushing the listener toward dharma and devotion beyond transient power.

How does Sage Parāśara explain human suffering in this dynastic context?

Through concrete narrative symptoms of deterioration, Parāśara frames suffering as a consequence within embodied existence—often read in Purāṇic thought as shaped by time (kāla), conduct (dharma/adharma), and karmic momentum.

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

By contrasting decaying embodiment with the Purana’s wider vision of Vishnu as the sustaining Supreme Reality, the text implicitly points to refuge in the eternal preserver beyond the collapse of physical and political strength.