Shloka 45

अविद्याबीज-निरूपणं, योगस्वरूप-उपदेशः, मूर्तहरिधारणा-समाधि, जनकवंशीय-राजर्षिसंवादः

Devanagari script

प्राणायामेन पवनैः प्रत्याहारेण चेन्द्रियैः वशीकृतैस् ततः कुर्यात् स्थितं चेतः शुभाश्रये

Transliteration

prāṇāyāmena pavanaiḥ pratyāhāreṇa cendriyaiḥ vaśīkṛtais tataḥ kuryāt sthitaṃ cetaḥ śubhāśraye

Translation

Having mastered the currents of the life-breath through prāṇāyāma and restrained the senses by pratyāhāra, one should then establish the mind in steady poise, resting it upon the auspicious refuge—the Supreme.

Word by Word

• प्राणायामेन: by prāṇāyāma (breath-control)
• प्राणायामेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणायाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (प्राणस्य आयामः/नियमनम्)

• पवनैः: by the winds/breaths
• पवनैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन

• प्रत्याहारेण: by withdrawal (pratyāhāra)
• प्रत्याहारेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रत्याहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

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

• इन्द्रियैः: by the senses
• इन्द्रियैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन

• वशीकृतैः: having been brought under control
• वशीकृतैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वशी + कृ (धातु) → वशीकृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; agrees with ‘इन्द्रियैः’

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) ‘thereafter/from that’

• कुर्यात्: should place/make
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• स्थितम्: steady, fixed
• स्थितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP used adjectivally), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; qualifies ‘चेतः’ as object of ‘कुर्यात्’

• चेतः: mind
• चेतः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• शुभाश्रये: in an auspicious support/abode
• शुभाश्रये: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (शुभः आश्रयः यस्मिन्)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Integrating prāṇāyāma and pratyāhāra to fix the mind on the auspicious Supreme (śubhāśraya)

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: compassionate

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: After mastering the life-breath by prāṇāyāma and the senses by pratyāhāra, one should fix the mind steadily upon the auspicious Supreme refuge.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Begin meditation with a brief breathing practice and sensory withdrawal, then place attention on the Lord’s name/form as a stable center.

Vishishtadvaita: Liberative contemplation is explicitly theocentric: the mind is established in the ‘auspicious refuge’ (the Supreme Person), reflecting Vishishtadvaita’s primacy of upāsanā/bhakti toward Nārāyaṇa.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of prāṇāyāma and pratyāhāra in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents them as sequential disciplines: breath-regulation steadies the vital currents, withdrawal restrains the senses, and together they prepare the mind to become firmly established in the Supreme refuge.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the next step after controlling the senses?

After the senses are brought under mastery, Parāśara instructs that the mind (cetas) should be made steady and placed in an auspicious support—implying focused contemplation on the highest reality.

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

The “auspicious refuge” functions as the ultimate object and support of meditation—Vishnu as the Supreme Reality—so yogic discipline culminates not merely in technique but in God-centered absorption directed toward liberation.