Shloka 6

लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्

Devanagari script

पूर्णे शतसहस्रे तु योजनानां निशाकरात् नक्षत्रमण्डलं कृत्स्नम् उपरिष्टात् प्रकाशते

Transliteration

pūrṇe śatasahasre tu yojanānāṃ niśākarāt nakṣatramaṇḍalaṃ kṛtsnam upariṣṭāt prakāśate

Translation

ചന്ദ്രനിൽ നിന്ന് പൂർണ്ണമായ ഒരു ലക്ഷം യോജന മുകളിലേക്ക്, സമസ്ത നക്ഷത്രമണ്ഡലം—നക്ഷത്രസമൂഹം—ഉന്നതാകാശത്തിൽ പ്രകാശിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• पूर्णे: complete/full
• पूर्णे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (शतसहस्रे इत्यस्य)

• शत-सहस्रे: at (a distance of) a hundred thousand
• शत-सहस्रे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शतानां सहस्रम् = one hundred thousand)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपातः

• योजनानाम्: of yojanas
• योजनानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• निशाकरात्: from the moon
• निशाकरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निशाकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• नक्षत्र-मण्डलम्: the circle of stars
• नक्षत्र-मण्डलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (नक्षत्राणां मण्डलम्)

• कृत्स्नम्: entire
• कृत्स्नम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत्स्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (नक्षत्रमण्डलम्)

• उपरिष्टात्: above
• उपरिष्टात्: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरणार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उपरिष्टात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb of place: above)

• प्रकाशते: shines/appears
• प्रकाशते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: काश् (धातु) + प्र (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Relative position of the nakṣatra-maṇḍala above the moon.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The ordered gradation of luminous realms invites contemplation of higher principles beyond the sensory world.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Practice night-sky contemplation as a support for śānta-bhāva and remembrance of the cosmic Lord.

Vishishtadvaita: Higher luminous realms are real modes within the Lord’s ordered body (jagat), not mere projections.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Moon (Niśākara)
• Nakṣatras (lunar mansions)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Nakshatra Mandala in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse places the nakṣatras as a distinct luminous sphere above the Moon, presenting the heavens as an ordered hierarchy rather than a random expanse—an expression of cosmic order.

How does Sage Parasara explain cosmic distances in this context?

Parāśara teaches Maitreya using yojanas as a standard measure, mapping the universe in layered zones (Moon, then above it the nakṣatra sphere), typical of the Purana’s systematic bhuvana-kośa description.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this cosmological description?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s cosmography functions as a theology of sovereignty: the universe is intelligible, graded, and sustained by the Supreme Reality (Vishnu) whose order makes the heavens coherent and luminous.