Shloka 9
आत्यन्तिक-लयहेतुः: तापत्रय-विवेचनम् तथा ‘भगवान्/वासुदेव’ शब्दार्थः
Threefold Suffering and the Path to Final Liberation; Meaning of Bhagavān and Vāsudeva
गर्भजन्मजराज्ञानमृत्युनारकजं तथा दुःखं सहस्रशो भेदैर् भिद्यते मुनिसत्तम
garbhajanmajarājñānamṛtyunārakajaṃ tathā duḥkhaṃ sahasraśo bhedair bhidyate munisattama
O best of sages, suffering is split into thousands of varieties—arising from life in the womb, from birth, from old age, from ignorance, from death, and from the pains born of hellish states as well.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Enumeration of saṃsāra-duḥkha (womb, birth, old age, death, naraka) to generate dispassion
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: revealing
Concept: Saṃsāric suffering is manifold—beginning in the womb and extending through birth, aging, death, and even hellish experiences.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Contemplate the full arc of embodied life to weaken complacency and strengthen commitment to liberation-oriented practice.
Vishishtadvaita: By recognizing the jīva’s bondage across embodied states, one turns toward śaraṇāgati to the Lord who alone grants mokṣa while remaining immanent as the support of all.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
It maps the full spectrum of saṃsāric pain—before birth, during life, at death, and after death—showing that suffering pervades conditioned existence and prompting the pursuit of liberation.
He presents duḥkha as “thousands of divisions,” categorizing it by its causes and stages (gestation, embodiment, decline, death, and naraka), emphasizing that it is structurally built into worldly life.
By underscoring the inevitability of saṃsāric suffering, the text implicitly directs the seeker toward Vishnu as the supreme refuge and the ultimate ground of mokṣa beyond birth and death.