Shloka 90

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

Devanagari script

तद्रूपप्रत्यया चैका संततिश् चान्यनिःस्पृहा तद्ध्यानं प्रथमैर् अङ्गैः षड्भिर् निष्पाद्यते नृप

Transliteration

tadrūpapratyayā caikā saṃtatiś cānyaniḥspṛhā taddhyānaṃ prathamair aṅgaiḥ ṣaḍbhir niṣpādyate nṛpa

Translation

O King, there is one unbroken current of awareness resting upon His very form, and there is another, free from craving and grasping. That meditation is accomplished through the first six limbs of discipline.

Word by Word

• तद्-रूप-प्रत्यया: conviction regarding that form
• तद्-रूप-प्रत्यया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रत्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘तस्य रूपे प्रत्ययः’ = conviction/assurance regarding that form

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

• एका: single
• एका: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (one/single)

• संततिः: continuity
• संततिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संतति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• अन्य-निःस्पृहा: another (aspect): desireless
• अन्य-निःस्पृहा: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक) + निःस्पृह (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-विशेषण)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् — ‘अन्या निःस्पृहा’ (another aspect: free from desire/without craving)

• तद्-ध्यानम्: that meditation
• तद्-ध्यानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ध्यान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘तस्य ध्यानम्’ (that meditation)

• प्रथमैर्: by the first
• प्रथमैर्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रथम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् — ‘प्रथमैः’ (by the first/initial)

• अङ्गैः: limbs/parts (steps)
• अङ्गैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• षड्भिः: with six
• षड्भिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषणम् (with six)

• निष्पाद्यते: is accomplished
• निष्पाद्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पद्/√पाद्? (धातु) with नि + निष्पादय (causative stem)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive) — ‘is accomplished/produced’

• नृप: O king
• नृप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching a kingly interlocutor in the Moksha-yoga section; classically framed within Parāśara’s instruction line)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Dhyāna is sustained as an unbroken stream of form-cognition, alongside a second current characterized by non-craving; it is accomplished through the first six limbs of yogic discipline.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Cultivate two supports in practice: continuous attention (no gaps) and non-grasping (observe without desire); structure sessions with ethical restraint, posture, breath, sense-withdrawal, concentration, and meditation.

Vishishtadvaita: Meditation is not mere abstraction but disciplined upāsanā on the personal Supreme (Vāsudeva), joined with vairāgya—aligning devotion with liberating knowledge.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Vasudeva

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• King

FAQs

What is the significance of an “unbroken stream of awareness” (saṃtati) in the Vishnu Purana?

It indicates sustained, uninterrupted contemplation where the mind continuously holds Vishnu as its single object, which is presented as a defining mark of mature meditation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain desirelessness (niḥspṛhatā) in meditation?

He treats it as a distinct, higher condition of the meditative mind—free from craving—so that contemplation is no longer driven by personal gain but becomes steady and inwardly purified.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Vishnu is the supreme object of dhyāna: meditation is validated and completed by fixing cognition on Him, aligning yogic practice with Vaishnava liberation doctrine.