Shloka 7

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

Devanagari script

आक्रान्तः पर्वतैः कस्मात् कस्माद् दष्टो महोरगैः क्षिप्तः किम् अद्रिशिखरात् किं वा पावकसंचये

Transliteration

ākrāntaḥ parvataiḥ kasmāt kasmād daṣṭo mahoragaiḥ kṣiptaḥ kim adriśikharāt kiṃ vā pāvakasaṃcaye

Translation

誰が山々でお前を押し潰したのか。誰が大蛇に噛ませたのか。山の峰から投げ落とされたのか、それとも火の山へ投げ込まれたのか。

Word by Word

• आक्रान्तः: overrun/pressed down
• आक्रान्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ+√क्रम् (धातु) → आक्रान्त (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त

• पर्वतैः: by mountains
• पर्वतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन

• कस्मात्: from what cause/why
• कस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• कस्मात्: from what cause/why
• कस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• दष्टः: bitten
• दष्टः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √दंश् (धातु) → दष्ट (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त

• महोरगैः: by great serpents
• महोरगैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + उरग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान्तः उरगाः)

• क्षिप्तः: thrown
• क्षिप्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √क्षिप् (धातु) → क्षिप्त (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त

• किम्: what?/why?
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• अद्रिशिखरात्: from a mountain-peak
• अद्रिशिखरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अद्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + शिखर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अद्रेः शिखरम्)

• किं: why/what
• किं: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पबोधक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• पावकसंचये: in a heap/pile of fire
• पावकसंचये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पावक (प्रातिपदिक) + संचय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पावकस्य संचयः)

Speaker

Unspecified interlocutor within the narrative (a questioning speaker addressing a suffering or endangered person)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: Details of the tortures: crushing by mountains, serpent-bites, being hurled from a peak, or into fire

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: probing, compassionate

Prahlada Narrative

Phase: Persecution

Bhakti Quality: steadfastness (acālya-niṣṭhā) under terror

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Dasya

FAQs

What is the significance of repeated images like mountains, serpents, and fire in the Vishnu Purana?

They function as archetypal dangers used to intensify a moral-narrative inquiry—highlighting the gravity of suffering and prompting investigation into cause, responsibility, and dharma.

How does Sage Parasara explain the role of causality (karma) in such episodes?

In the Purana’s narrative logic, calamity is not random: it invites discernment of prior actions, ethical order, and the larger governance of the world—often culminating in restoration through righteousness and divine alignment.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in a verse, the Purana’s framework treats worldly crises as occurring within Vishnu’s sovereign order—where dharma ultimately prevails and protection or resolution aligns with the Supreme Reality sustaining the cosmos.