Shloka 55

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

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

Devanagari script

यद् यत् प्रीतिकरं पुंसां वस्तु मैत्रेय जायते तद् एव दुःखवृक्षस्य बीजत्वम् उपगच्छति

Transliteration

yad yat prītikaraṃ puṃsāṃ vastu maitreya jāyate tad eva duḥkhavṛkṣasya bījatvam upagacchati

Translation

Whatever object arises as pleasing to a person, O Maitreya—that very thing becomes the seed of the tree of sorrow.

Word by Word

• यत्: whatever
• यत्: Karma (Object; relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; यद्-तद् सम्बन्धे (whatever)

• यत्: whatever (each)
• यत्: Karma (Object; relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोग (each and every whatever)

• प्रीतिकरम्: pleasure-giving
• प्रीतिकरम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रीति + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास (प्रीतिं करोति = causing pleasure); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; वस्तु इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• पुंसाम्: of men
• पुंसाम्: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Possessor/Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुंस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वस्तु: a thing / object
• वस्तु: Karta (Subject; of jāyate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वस्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मैत्रेय: O Maitreya
• मैत्रेय: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• जायते: arises / is born
• जायते: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Subject; of upagacchati)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; यद्-तद् सम्बन्धे (that)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (indeed/just)

• दुःखवृक्षस्य: of the tree of sorrow
• दुःखवृक्षस्य: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख + वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास (दुःखस्य वृक्षः = tree of sorrow); पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• बीजत्वम्: the state of being a seed / seedhood
• बीजत्वम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बीजत्व (प्रातिपदिक; तद्धित -त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उपगच्छति: attains / becomes
• उपगच्छति: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप+गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Why pleasure turns into suffering: attachment to prīti-kara objects as the seed of duḥkha.

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: compassionate

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Objects that delight the mind become the very seeds of sorrow when grasped with attachment; only the Lord is a non-perishing refuge for love.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Redirect attachment: enjoy duties and relationships with detachment while cultivating steady devotion (smaraṇa, nāma-japa) so love rests in Hari rather than in perishable objects.

Vishishtadvaita: Love (prīti) is fulfilled when placed in the ultimate Person who is the inner ruler and end of all; finite objects are real but meant to be related to the Lord as His modes (prakāra), not as independent sources of bliss.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of pleasure (prīti) in this Vishnu Purana verse?

The verse treats what is felt as “pleasing” as the starting-point of attachment, which later ripens into suffering—hence pleasure-object becomes the seed of duḥkha.

How does Sage Parāśara explain bondage in this context?

Parāśara frames bondage as beginning with attraction to agreeable objects; once the mind clings, karma and disappointment follow, growing into a “tree of sorrow.”

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Implicitly, turning from transient pleasures toward Vishnu—the stable Supreme Reality—supports liberation; the verse contrasts impermanent sense-delight with the path that culminates in devotion and freedom.