Shloka 10

Devanagari script

छिनत्ति वीरुधो यस् तु वीरुत्संस्थे निशाकरे पत्रं वा पातयत्य् एकं ब्रह्महत्यां स विन्दति

Transliteration

chinatti vīrudho yas tu vīrutsaṃsthe niśākare patraṃ vā pātayaty ekaṃ brahmahatyāṃ sa vindati

Translation

月が草木の間に留まるとき、つる草を刈る者、あるいは一枚の葉であれ落とす者は、ブラフマハティヤー（婆羅門殺し）に等しい重罪を得る。

Word by Word

• छिनत्ति: cuts
• छिनत्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √छिद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• वीरुधः: plants; creepers
• वीरुधः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीरुध् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विशेष/विरोधार्थक (particle)

• वीरुत्-संस्थे: when (the moon) is situated in plants
• वीरुत्-संस्थे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वीरुध् (प्रातिपदिक) + संस्थ (कृदन्त; सम् + √स्था)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त 'संस्थ' = situated; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष ('situated in plants')

• निशाकरे: in the moon (night-maker)
• निशाकरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निशाकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• पत्रम्: a leaf
• पत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

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

• पातयति: makes fall; drops
• पातयति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पत् (धातु) (णिच् causative: पातय)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative: 'causes to fall')

• एकम्: one
• एकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषण

• ब्रह्महत्याम्: the sin of brahmin-slaying
• ब्रह्महत्याम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्यā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• विन्दति: incurs; obtains
• विन्दति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Because the moon is ritually present in vegetation at a specific time, harming plants then is treated as an extreme violation (brahmahatyā-equivalent), stressing sacred non-injury.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Adopt ahiṃsā toward plant life—avoid needless cutting, practice mindful consumption, and honor ritual calendars that cultivate restraint.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma extends to all embodied life within the Lord’s body (śarīra-śarīrī-bhāva), so injury to living nature is spiritually weighty.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Chandra (Moon)

FAQs

What is the significance of lunar timing (the Moon’s position) in this Vishnu Purana verse?

The verse ties ethical action to ritual-cosmic timing, warning that harming vegetation under a specified lunar condition is treated as an exceptionally serious transgression.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the seriousness of seemingly minor harm (like dropping a leaf)?

He frames even small acts, when done at prohibited times, as spiritually weighty—so weighty that they are equated with brahmahatyā—emphasizing dharma as alignment with sacred order rather than mere physical magnitude.

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

Within the Vishnu Purana’s worldview, dharma safeguards the divinely sustained order upheld by Vishnu; violating it—even subtly—disrupts that order and therefore carries severe karmic consequence.