Shloka 57

आत्यन्तिक-लयहेतुः: तापत्रय-विवेचनम् तथा ‘भगवान्/वासुदेव’ शब्दार्थः

Threefold Suffering and the Path to Final Liberation; Meaning of Bhagavān and Vāsudeva

Devanagari script

इति संसारदुःखार्कतापतापितचेतसाम् विमुक्तिपादपच्छायाम् ऋते कुत्र सुखं नृणाम्

Transliteration

iti saṃsāraduḥkhārkatāpatāpitacetasām vimuktipādapacchāyām ṛte kutra sukhaṃ nṛṇām

Translation

આ રીતે, સંસાર-દુઃખરૂપ સૂર્યની દાહક તાપથી જેમના ચિત્ત દગ્ધ છે, તેમને મુક્તિના ચરણોની શીતળ છાયા વિના સુખ ક્યાંથી મળે?

Word by Word

इतिthus

संसारworldly existence

दुःखsorrow

अर्कsun

तापheat; burning

तापितheated; tormented

चेतसाम्of minds

संसारदुःखार्कतापतापितचेतसाम्of those whose minds are scorched by the heat of the sun of worldly sorrow

विमुक्तिliberation

पादपtree

छायाम्in the shade

विमुक्तिपादपच्छायाम्in the shade of the tree of liberation

ऋतेwithout; except

कुत्रwhere?

सुखम्happiness

नृणाम्of men

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Vimukti (Moksha)

Samsara (worldly existence)

Humankind (nṛṇām)

FAQs

What is the significance of moksha (vimukti) in this verse of the Vishnu Purana?

It presents mokṣa as the only true shelter that cools the mind afflicted by saṃsāra’s suffering; without it, lasting human happiness is portrayed as impossible.

How does Sage Parashara explain the human condition here?

He depicts ordinary life as a cycle that burns the mind with sorrow, implying that worldly achievements cannot ultimately remove distress—only liberation can.

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

Though not named in the line, the Vishnu Purana’s framework treats liberation as attained under Vishnu’s supreme refuge—mokṣa is implicitly tied to the Lord as the final ground of peace.