Shloka 41

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

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

Devanagari script

निरुद्धकण्ठो दोषौघैर् उदानश्वासपीडितः तापेन महता व्याप्तस् तृषा चार्तस् तथा क्षुधा

Transliteration

niruddhakaṇṭho doṣaughair udānaśvāsapīḍitaḥ tāpena mahatā vyāptas tṛṣā cārtas tathā kṣudhā

Translation

His throat is choked by surging humors; oppressed by the upward-moving breath, he is wholly pervaded by fierce burning heat—tormented alike by thirst and by hunger.

Word by Word

• निरुद्धकण्ठः: with throat constricted
• निरुद्धकण्ठः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निरुद्ध (कृदन्त, √रुध्) + कण्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘निरुद्धः कण्ठः यस्य सः/निरुद्धकण्ठः’ (karmadhāraya)

• दोषौघैः: by floods/masses of humors (doṣas)
• दोषौघैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दोषौघ (प्रातिपदिक: दोष + ओघ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; करण (instrumental) — ‘दोषाणाम् ओघः’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• उदानश्वासपीडितः: tormented by upward breath (udāna)
• उदानश्वासपीडितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उदान (प्रातिपदिक) + श्वास (प्रातिपदिक) + पीडित (कृदन्त, √पीड्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘उदानश्वासेन पीडितः’ (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष)

• तापेन: by heat/fever
• तापेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण (instrumental)

• महता: great
• महता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; विशेषण—तापेन सह संबद्धम्

• व्याप्तः: pervaded/overcome
• व्याप्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्याप्त (कृदन्त, √आप्/√व्याप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — ‘व्याप्य स्थितः/आवृतः’

• तृषा: thirst
• तृषा: Hetu/Anubhava (Cause/condition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृषा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सहकारक-समुच्चय (enumerative)

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

• आर्तः: distressed
• आर्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आर्त (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—पीडित/दुःखी

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—उपमान/समुच्चयार्थे (also/likewise)

• क्षुधा: hunger
• क्षुधा: Hetu/Anubhava (Cause/condition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षुधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समुच्चित-भावः

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Consequences of sin at death and the post-mortem path (naraka-yātanā)

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: At death, the embodied being suffers acutely as bodily doṣas and prāṇa disturbances manifest the karmic burden that has ripened.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate restraint and sattvic living, and practice daily remembrance of Hari to lessen fear and agitation at life’s end.

Vishishtadvaita: Karma operates within the Lord’s moral order (niyati), urging surrender and disciplined life as service to Him.

FAQs

What is the significance of describing disease and bodily distress in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse uses vivid physiological suffering to underscore the impermanence of the body and the karmic vulnerability of embodied beings—even within royal narratives—thereby turning history into spiritual instruction.

How does Sage Parāśara explain human suffering in the Purāṇic storyline?

Parāśara commonly frames such episodes as outcomes within dharma and karma, using narrative affliction to teach detachment and to point the listener toward refuge in the supreme order upheld by Vishnu.

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

By highlighting the limits of bodily power and status, the narrative implicitly contrasts transient embodiment with Vishnu’s supreme, sustaining reality—encouraging reliance on the divine ground beyond pain, thirst, and hunger.