Shloka 63

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

Devanagari script

तया तिरोहितत्वाच् च शक्तिः क्षेत्रज्ञसंज्ञिता सर्वभूतेषु भूपाल तारतम्येन लक्ष्यते

Transliteration

tayā tirohitatvāc ca śaktiḥ kṣetrajñasaṃjñitā sarvabhūteṣu bhūpāla tāratamyena lakṣyate

Translation

And because it is veiled by that covering power, the energy known as the Kṣetrajña—the conscious Knower—is perceived in all beings, O King, only in graded degrees.

Word by Word

• तया: by that (power)
• तया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• तिरोहितत्वात्: because of (its) concealment
• तिरोहितत्वात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिरो + धा (धातु) → तिरोहित (कृदन्त) + त्व (तद्धित/भाव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे ‘because of concealment’

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

• शक्तिः: the power
• शक्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• क्षेत्रज्ञसंज्ञिता: called ‘kṣetrajña’
• क्षेत्रज्ञसंज्ञिता: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षेत्रज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (क्षेत्रज्ञ-नाम्ना संज्ञिता) = ‘designated as kṣetrajña’; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्तः

• सर्वभूतेषु: in all beings
• सर्वभूतेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषु भूतेषु)

• भूपाल: O protector of the earth (king)
• भूपाल: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूपाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• तारतम्येन: by gradation (in degrees)
• तारतम्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तारतम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; प्रकार/उपायार्थे ‘by gradation’

• लक्ष्यते: is perceived
• लक्ष्यते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोगः—‘is perceived/observed’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; the verse addresses a ‘king’ as an honorific within the discourse)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Why consciousness appears unequal across beings (tāratamya) though the kṣetrajña is present in all.

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: clarifying

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Because of the veiling power, the same indwelling kṣetrajña is recognized in beings only by degrees, according to the contraction/expansion of manifested consciousness.

Vedantic Theme: Atman

Application: Avoid judging spiritual worth by external capacity; instead, honor the indweller in all and cultivate practices that expand clarity (sattva) and reduce karmic veils.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms real plurality and gradation among jīvas while maintaining a common dependence on the one supreme Lord as inner ruler (antaryāmin).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Kshetrajna (Knower of the Field)
• All beings (sarvabhūta)
• King (Bhūpāla)

FAQs

What is the significance of Kṣetrajña in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents Kṣetrajña as the conscious principle present in all beings, yet perceived in different degrees because it is veiled—supporting a Purāṇic-Vedāntic view of universal consciousness with graded manifestation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the gradation (tāratamya) of consciousness?

He indicates that the knower-of-the-field is everywhere, but due to concealment by a covering influence, it appears more or less evident in different beings—hence the observable hierarchy of awareness.

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

Even when discussing Kṣetrajña as immanent in all beings, the Vishnu Purana frames such consciousness as grounded in the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose order allows differentiated, veiled expression within creation.