Shloka 32

Devanagari script

सकृद् उच्चारिते वाक्ये समुद्भूतमहाश्रमः श्वासकासमहायाससमुद्भूतप्रजागरः

Transliteration

sakṛd uccārite vākye samudbhūtamahāśramaḥ śvāsakāsamahāyāsasamudbhūtaprajāgaraḥ

Translation

At the mere utterance of a single sentence, overwhelming exhaustion seized him; with heaving breath, cough, and severe strain, a restless, wakeful distress arose within him.

Word by Word

• सकृत्: once
• सकृत्: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सकृत् (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/आवृत्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (adverb: once)

• उच्चारिते: when uttered
• उच्चारिते: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद् + चर् (धातु) → उच्चारित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; विशेषणम्

• वाक्ये: in a sentence/utterance
• वाक्ये: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• समुद्भूतमहाश्रमः: with great fatigue arisen
• समुद्भूतमहाश्रमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + उद् + भू (धातु) → समुद्भूत (कृदन्त) + महा + श्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (one whose great fatigue has arisen)

• श्वासकासमहायाससमुद्भूतप्रजागरः: kept awake due to breathlessness, cough, and great strain
• श्वासकासमहायाससमुद्भूतप्रजागरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वास + कास + महा + आयास + समुद्भूत (कृदन्त) + प्रजागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-समासः; विशेषणम् (wakefulness arising from breathlessness, cough, and great exertion)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How old age makes even basic speech and action painful, urging timely pursuit of moksha

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: compassionate

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When the body is overwhelmed by age, even a single utterance becomes torment, revealing the instability of embodied supports.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Use health and clarity as a window for sādhana; simplify life and establish steady remembrance so practice does not depend on physical strength.

Vishishtadvaita: Embodiment is a mode (prakāra) of the self; as the mode deteriorates, dependence on the Lord’s grace and stable bhakti becomes central.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of describing breathlessness and cough in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse uses vivid bodily symptoms (śvāsa, kāsa, mahāyāsa) to signal intense strain and vulnerability, heightening the dramatic and ethical stakes of the surrounding royal narrative.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the character’s condition here?

Parāśara presents it as an immediate consequence—upon a single utterance—showing how quickly exhaustion and agitation can arise, a common Purāṇic technique to mark crisis or turning points in a story.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic frame implies that embodied suffering and instability belong to saṃsāra, while Vishnu remains the sovereign ground of order beyond such transient conditions.