Shloka 18

ऋभु-निदाघ-संवादः — अधः-ऊर्ध्व-दृष्टान्तेन अद्वैतबोधः (राजा-गज-उपमा) तथा मोक्षफलश्रुति

Devanagari script

तद् एतद् उपदिष्टं ते संक्षेपेण महामते परमार्थसारभूतं यद् अद्वैतम् अशेषतः

Transliteration

tad etad upadiṣṭaṃ te saṃkṣepeṇa mahāmate paramārthasārabhūtaṃ yad advaitam aśeṣataḥ

Translation

ਹੇ ਮਹਾਮਤੀ, ਮੈਂ ਤੈਨੂੰ ਇਹ ਸੰਖੇਪ ਵਿੱਚ ਉਪਦੇਸ਼ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਹੈ—ਪਰਮਾਰਥ ਦਾ ਸਾਰ, ਉਹ ਅਦ੍ਵੈਤ ਤੱਤ, ਪੂਰਨ ਰੂਪ ਵਿੱਚ, ਬਿਨਾ ਕਿਸੇ ਅਵਸ਼ੇਸ਼ ਦੇ।

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (emphatic: 'this very')

• उपदिष्टम्: taught
• उपदिष्टम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपदिष्ट (कृदन्त; √दिश् (धातु) + उप उपसर्ग, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ('taught/instructed')

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th) एकवचन (enclitic)

• संक्षेपेण: briefly
• संक्षेपेण: Karana (Manner/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संक्षेप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; प्रकार/रीत्या (in brief)

• महामते: O great-minded one
• महामते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th), एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहिः (महती मतिः यस्य सः)

• परमार्थ-सार-भूतम्: constituting the essence of the highest truth
• परमार्थ-सार-भूतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परमार्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + सार (प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (कृदन्त; √भू (धातु), क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (परमार्थस्य सारः → परमार्थसारः; तदेव भूतम् = 'constituting the essence')

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun)

• अद्वैतम्: non-duality
• अद्वैतम्: Apposition (Predicate nominal/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अद्वैत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अशेषतः: completely
• अशेषतः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अशेषतः (अव्यय; अशेष + तस्)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (entirely/without remainder)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Non-dual Reality (advaita) is taught as the condensed essence of the highest truth, complete and without remainder.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Regularly distill your study into a single steady contemplation—what is truly real—and test it against experience through meditation and ethical living.

Vishishtadvaita: In Vaiṣṇava reading, 'advaita' can be understood as the one supreme Brahman (Nārāyaṇa) without a second independent reality, while still allowing real modes/attributes (cit-acit) as His inseparable body.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Vishnu (implied as the Supreme Reality)

FAQs

What is the significance of Advaita (non-duality) in this Vishnu Purana verse?

It presents the culmination of the teaching as the realization of a single, non-dual Supreme Reality—described as the complete essence of ultimate truth.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the essence of the highest truth to Maitreya here?

He frames the instruction as a concise summary (saṃkṣepeṇa) and calls it the paramārtha-sāra—the distilled core of the entire doctrine.

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

Though not named explicitly in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s moksha-teaching context treats the non-dual ultimate reality as Vishnu’s supreme nature (Para Brahman), the final ground of liberation.