Shloka 8

Devanagari script

शीतोष्णवातवर्षाम्बुवैद्युतादिसमुद्भवः तापो द्विजवरश्रेष्ठ कथ्यते चाधिदैविकः

Transliteration

śītoṣṇavātavarṣāmbuvaidyutādisamudbhavaḥ tāpo dvijavaraśreṣṭha kathyate cādhidaivikaḥ

Translation

O best of the twice-born, the suffering that arises from cold and heat, from winds and rains, from floods and lightning, and the like is declared to be the adhidaivika affliction.

Word by Word

• śīta-uṣṇa-vāta-varṣā-ambu-vaidyuta-ādi-samudbhavaḥ: arising from cold, heat, wind, rain, water, lightning, etc.
• śīta-uṣṇa-vāta-varṣā-ambu-vaidyuta-ādi-samudbhavaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śīta (प्रातिपदिक) + uṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + vāta (प्रातिपदिक) + varṣā (प्रातिपदिक) + ambu (प्रातिपदिक) + vaidyuta (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (…-ādi-samudbhava = ‘arising from cold, heat, wind, rain, water, lightning, etc.’)

• tāpaḥ: affliction
• tāpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• dvijavaraśreṣṭha: O best among the excellent twice-born
• dvijavaraśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + vara (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (dvijānāṃ varaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ)

• kathyate: is said/is called
• kathyate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (is said/called)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• adhidaivikaḥ: divine/cosmic (due to deities/nature)
• adhidaivikaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhidaivika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (tāpaḥ understood)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Adhidaivika suffering caused by cosmic/daivika forces (weather, lightning, floods)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Sufferings arising from cold, heat, wind, rain, flood, and lightning are adhidaivika—stemming from the governing powers of nature.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice equanimity toward climate and circumstance; prepare wisely while accepting what lies beyond personal control.

Vishishtadvaita: Natural forces operate as the Lord’s niyati (ordered governance); the jīva’s dependence (śeṣatva) is highlighted amid uncontrollable daivika events.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Devas (as cosmic powers implied)

FAQs

What is the significance of adhi-daivika suffering in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse defines adhi-daivika tāpa as misery caused by external cosmic powers—weather, lightning, floods—showing how the Purana classifies suffering within the ordered governance of the universe.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the threefold afflictions (tāpa-traya)?

Here Parāśara identifies one category—adhi-daivika—by listing natural and celestial causes, distinguishing it from inner (ādhyātmika) and interpersonal/creature-based (ādhibhautika) forms of suffering taught in the same framework.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

By placing even uncontrollable natural calamities within a classified cosmic order, the teaching supports the Vaishnava view that the universe operates under higher sovereignty—ultimately grounded in Vishnu as the supreme regulator of dharma and cosmic law.