Shloka 38

Devanagari script

हिरण्यधान्यतनयभार्याभृत्यगृहादिषु एते कथं भविष्यन्तीत्य् अतीवममताकुलः

Transliteration

hiraṇyadhānyatanayabhāryābhṛtyagṛhādiṣu ete kathaṃ bhaviṣyantīty atīvamamatākulaḥ

Translation

Overwhelmed by fierce possessiveness for gold, grain, sons, wife, servants, house, and the rest, he is greatly agitated, thinking: “What will become of these?”

Word by Word

• हिरण्य: gold
• हिरण्य: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक (as compound member)

• धान्य: grain
• धान्य: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धान्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक (as compound member)

• तनय: son
• तनय: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक (as compound member)

• भार्या: wife
• भार्या: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भार्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक (as compound member)

• भृत्य: servant
• भृत्य: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक (as compound member)

• गृह: house
• गृह: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक (as compound member)

• आदि: and so on
• आदि: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक (as compound member; 'etc.')

• हिरण्यधान्यतनयभार्याभृत्यगृहादिषु: among gold, grain, sons, wife, servants, house, etc.
• हिरण्यधान्यतनयभार्याभृत्यगृहादिषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिरण्य + धान्य + तनय + भार्या + भृत्य + गृह + आदि (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: समाहार-द्वन्द्वसमास (collection); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; बहुवचन (neuter; locative plural)

• एते: these (people/things)
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन (masc. nominative plural)

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक (interrogative adverb: how)

• भविष्यन्ति: will be, will fare
• भविष्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्काल); प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (future; 3rd pl)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; वाक्यसमाप्ति/उद्धरणचिह्न (quotative particle)

• अतीव: exceedingly
• अतीव: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतीव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अतिशयार्थक (intensifier: exceedingly)

• ममता: possessiveness, attachment
• ममता: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ममता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक (as compound member)

• आकुलः: agitated, distressed
• आकुलः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन (masc. nom. sg.); विशेषण

• ममताकुलः: distressed by attachment
• ममताकुलः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ममता + आकुल (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी: ममतया आकुलः); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Attachment (mamatā) to wealth and family that agitates the mind at death

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: compassionate

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: At the end, obsessive ‘mine-ness’ toward wealth, family, and home becomes acute suffering; relinquishing possessiveness is essential for peace and liberation.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice aparigraha and intentional generosity; reframe family and resources as entrusted service (seva) rather than ownership.

Vishishtadvaita: Transforms ‘mine-ness’ from egoic mamatā to śeṣatva (belonging-to-the-Lord): all relations and goods are to be offered to Nārāyaṇa as His property.

FAQs

What is the significance of mamatā (possessiveness) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights mamatā—clinging to “mine” (wealth, family, home)—as a direct source of agitation and fear, showing why dharma and inner detachment are repeatedly emphasized even within royal dynasty narratives.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the roots of anxiety in worldly life here?

By portraying the mind fixated on possessions and dependents—gold, grain, children, spouse, servants, house—Parāśara shows anxiety arising from the imagined need to control outcomes for impermanent things.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Implicitly, the verse contrasts unstable worldly supports with the need to ground oneself in the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose sovereignty transcends loss and change, aligning Purāṇic ethics with devotion and detachment.