Shloka 91

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

Devanagari script

तस्यैव कल्पनाहीनं स्वरूपग्रहणं हि यत् मनसा ध्याननिष्पाद्यं समाधिः सो ऽभिधीयते

Transliteration

tasyaiva kalpanāhīnaṃ svarūpagrahaṇaṃ hi yat manasā dhyānaniṣpādyaṃ samādhiḥ so 'bhidhīyate

Translation

When the mind, through meditation, apprehends only His very nature—free from all imaginative construction and mental projection—that state is declared to be samādhi.

Word by Word

• तस्य: of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण) = emphatic particle (indeed/only)

• कल्पना-हीनम्: free from conceptualization
• कल्पना-हीनम्: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कल्पना (प्रातिपदिक) + हीन (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-विशेषण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् — ‘कल्पनया हीनम्’ (free from imagination/conceptualization)

• स्वरूप-ग्रहणम्: apprehension of the true form
• स्वरूप-ग्रहणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्रहण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स्वरूपस्य ग्रहणम्’ (apprehension of the true form)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात)

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun) — ‘which/that which’

• मनसा: by the mind
• मनसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• ध्यान-निष्पाद्यम्: accomplishable by meditation
• ध्यान-निष्पाद्यम्: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्यान (प्रातिपदिक) + निष्पाद्य (कृदन्त; √पद्/पाद् with नि; कर्मणि/योग्यतार्थे)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् — ‘ध्यानेन निष्पाद्यम्’ (to be accomplished by meditation)

• समाधिः: samādhi
• समाधिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समाधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सः: that
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (he/that)

• अभिधीयते: is called
• अभिधीयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √धा (धातु) with अभि + धीय (passive stem)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive) — ‘is called/said’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Samādhi is the mind’s grasp of the Lord’s own nature (svarūpa) when imagination and conceptual construction (kalpanā) cease, leaving pure apprehension established by meditation.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Notice and drop mental story-making during practice; return to bare awareness of the chosen divine presence until cognition becomes simple, steady, and non-discursive.

Vishishtadvaita: Even when kalpanā ceases, realization is of Bhagavān’s real svarūpa (not void); liberation is union in knowledge and devotion to the personal Absolute.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of samādhi in the Vishnu Purana?

Here, samādhi is defined as the mind’s meditative absorption in Vishnu’s true nature, free from imaginative constructs—presented as a direct means toward liberation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the role of meditation (dhyāna)?

Parāśara states that dhyāna ‘accomplishes’ samādhi by steadying the mind until it holds only the object’s svarūpa, without conceptual overlay.

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

Vishnu is treated as the Supreme Reality whose essential nature is fit for contemplation; samādhi is framed as absorption in Him, aligning yogic practice with Vaishnava theism.