Shloka 18

देवकी-विवाहः, आकाशवाणी, भूरभारावतरण-याचना, क्षीराब्धि-स्तुति, केशावतार-नियोजनम्

Devanagari script

एतत् तस्याप्रमेयस्य रूपं विष्णोर् महात्मनः

Transliteration

etat tasyāprameyasya rūpaṃ viṣṇor mahātmanaḥ

Translation

Ceci, en vérité, est la forme manifestée du grand Seigneur Viṣṇu, incommensurable et inconcevable, que nulle mesure ne peut contenir.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: कर्ता/कर्म (Subject/Object; here predicate-noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘this’

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

• अप्रमेयस्य: of the immeasurable
• अप्रमेयस्य: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ (उपसर्ग/नञ्) + प्रमेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; नञ्-समास/निषेधः: ‘immeasurable’

• तस्याप्रमेयस्य: of that immeasurable one
• तस्याप्रमेयस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + अप्रमेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संधि-रूप (तस्य + अप्रमेयस्य); षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• रूपम्: form
• रूपम्: सम्बन्ध/विधेय (Predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• विष्णोः: of Viṣṇu
• विष्णोः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled (one)
• महात्मनः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि-प्रातिपदिक ‘महात्मन्’ (great-souled)

Speaker

Sage Parasara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the immeasurable Viṣṇu can nonetheless be spoken of through manifested forms and cosmic expressions

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Though Viṣṇu is aprameya (beyond measure and conceptual capture), His manifested rūpa is apprehended through revelation and contemplative insight.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Balance apophatic humility (God beyond thought) with devotional contemplation of His revealed forms in mantra, icon, and scripture.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms transcendence (aprameyatva) while allowing real manifestation (rūpa) accessible to devotion—central to qualified non-dualism.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of calling Vishnu 'aprameya' in the Vishnu Purana?

It asserts that Vishnu is beyond all measurement—mind, words, and conceptual limits—while still capable of revealing a knowable form for devotion and understanding.

How does Sage Parasara explain the relationship between Vishnu’s transcendence and his form?

Parasara presents Vishnu as inherently incomprehensible in essence, yet describable through a manifested rūpa that becomes the focus of contemplation, narration, and bhakti.

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

The verse establishes Vishnu as the supreme, all-sovereign reality whose manifested form grounds the narrative and supports Vaishnava devotion and metaphysics.