Shloka 6

Maitreya’s Inquiry into Prahlāda: The Logic of Bhakti’s Invincibility

Devanagari script

किंनिमित्तम् असौ शस्त्रैर् विक्षतो दितिजैर् मुने किमर्थं चाब्धिसलिले निक्षिप्तो धर्मतत्परः

Transliteration

kiṃnimittam asau śastrair vikṣato ditijair mune kimarthaṃ cābdhisalile nikṣipto dharmatatparaḥ

Translation

હે મુને, દૈત્યોના શસ્ત્રોથી આ ધર્મપરાયણને શા માટે ઘાયલ કર્યો? અને ધર્મમાં તત્પર હોવા છતાં તેને સમુદ્રના જળમાં શા માટે ફેંક્યો?

Word by Word

• किंनिमित्तम्: for what reason/cause
• किंनिमित्तम्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक) + निमित्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-तत्पुरुषः (कस्य निमित्तम्/किं निमित्तम्)

• असौ: he/that one
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• शस्त्रैः: with weapons
• शस्त्रैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन

• विक्षतः: wounded
• विक्षतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि+क्षत (कृदन्त; √क्षत्/√क्षद् ‘to wound’ - past participle)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त)

• दितिजैः: by the Daityas (sons of Diti)
• दितिजैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दितिज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• किमर्थम्: for what purpose/why
• किमर्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-तत्पुरुषः (किमर्थम्)

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

• अब्द्धिसलिले: in the sea-water
• अब्द्धिसलिले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अब्द्धि/अब्दि (प्रातिपदिक) + सलिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अब्देः सलिलम्)

• निक्षिप्तः: thrown/placed
• निक्षिप्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि+√क्षिप् (धातु) → निक्षिप्त (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• धर्मतत्परः: devoted to dharma
• धर्मतत्परः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + तत्पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (धर्मे तत्परः)

Speaker

Maitreya (questioning Sage Parāśara)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: Cause of the righteous one’s (Prahlāda’s) wounding by Daityas and his being cast into the ocean

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: inquisitive, truth-seeking

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Daityas (sons of Diti)
• Sage Parāśara
• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of a dharma-tatparaḥ being cast into the ocean in the Vishnu Purana?

It frames a classic Purāṇic problem: why the righteous suffer. The ocean becomes a narrative stage where hidden causes (karma, cosmic timing, and ultimately Vishnu’s governance of order) are about to be revealed.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the apparent injustice of Daityas harming a righteous person?

This verse is Maitreya’s prompt; Parāśara’s ensuing explanation typically resolves the tension through dharma and causality—showing that events unfold within a moral cosmos upheld by the Supreme (Vishnu), even when the surface appears unjust.

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

Even without Vishnu named in this line, the question presumes a universe where dharma is meaningful and ultimately protected—an outlook grounded in Vishnu as the supreme regulator of cosmic order who brings narrative and moral resolution.