Shloka 91

गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः

Devanagari script

अग्निर् आप्याययत्व् अन्नं पार्थिवं पवनेरितः दत्तावकाशं नभसा जरयत्व् अस्तु मे सुखम्

Transliteration

agnir āpyāyayatv annaṃ pārthivaṃ pavaneritaḥ dattāvakāśaṃ nabhasā jarayatv astu me sukham

Translation

പവനാൽ പ്രേരിതമായ അഗ്നി എന്റെ ഉള്ളിലെ പാർത്ഥിവ അന്നത്തെ പോഷിപ്പിച്ച് പരിവർത്തനം ചെയ്യട്ടെ; ആകാശം പ്രവർത്തിക്കാനുള്ള ഇടം നൽകി അതിനെ ജീർണ്ണിപ്പിക്കട്ടെ—എനിക്ക് സുഖവും ക്ഷേമവും ഉദിക്കട്ടെ.

Word by Word

• agniḥ: fire (digestive fire)
• agniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• āpyāyayatu: may (it) nourish
• āpyāyayatu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-pyā (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन

• annam: food
• annam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन

• pārthivam: earthy/solid
• pārthivam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pārthiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण (of annam)

• pavana-eritaḥ: impelled by wind
• pavana-eritaḥ: Karta (Agent-qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pavana (प्रातिपदिक) + īrita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (set in motion by wind)

• datta-avakāśam: given space/room
• datta-avakāśam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: datta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + avakāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (having been given space)

• nabhasā: by the sky/air (space)
• nabhasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (Instrumental); एकवचन

• jarayatu: may (it) digest/age
• jarayatu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन

• astu: may there be
• astu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन

• me: for me/of me
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive); एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sukham: happiness/well-being
• sukham: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; presented as a cosmological/physiological doctrine of the elements)

Characters & Entities

• Agni
• Vayu
• Akasha (Nabhas)
• Earth element (Prithivi)

FAQs

What is the significance of the five elements in this Vishnu Purana verse?

The verse treats digestion as an elemental cooperation—fire transforms, wind activates, and space provides room—showing how cosmic principles operate within the body.

How does Sage Parāśara explain elemental functioning through this passage?

He frames bodily processes as governed by the same universal forces found in cosmology, using Agni (fire), Vāyu (wind), and Nabhas/Ākāśa (space) to illustrate ordered interdependence.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purana’s framework implies that the stable coordination of elements—and the welfare it yields—rests on the Supreme sustaining principle identified with Vishnu.