Shloka 43

वासुदेवस्वरूपनिरूपणं—सर्गक्रमश्च

Vāsudeva’s Nature and the Ordered Process of Creation

Devanagari script

विकुर्वाणानि चाम्भांसि गन्धमात्रं ससर्जिरे संघातो जायते तस्मात् तस्य गन्धो गुणो मतः

Transliteration

vikurvāṇāni cāmbhāṃsi gandhamātraṃ sasarjire saṃghāto jāyate tasmāt tasya gandho guṇo mataḥ

Translation

विकुर्वाणानि चाम्भांसि गन्धमात्रं ससर्जिरे। संघातो जायते तस्मात् तस्य गन्धो गुणो मतः॥

Word by Word

विकुर्वाणानिtransforming

चand

अम्भांसिwaters

गन्धमात्रम्mere smell

ससर्जिरेcreated, produced

संघातःaggregation, solidity (mass)

जायतेarises, is produced

तस्मात्therefore, from that

तस्यof it/of that

गन्धःsmell

गुणःquality

मतःis regarded (as)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

Maitreya

Tanmātra (gandha)

Mahābhūtas (water, earth)

FAQs

What is the significance of smell (gandha) in the Vishnu Purana’s cosmology?

This verse identifies gandha as the characteristic quality (guṇa) of earth, explaining that the subtle principle of smell leads to aggregation/solidity, marking the transition to the gross element pṛthvī.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the formation of earth from earlier elements?

Parāśara describes a sequential evolution: waters transform and generate the tanmātra of smell; from that arises saṅghāta (compaction), and thus earth is recognized by the presence of smell as its defining attribute.

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

Even when discussing elemental mechanics, the Vishnu Purana frames creation as ordered manifestation under the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose sovereignty sustains the intelligible structure of the cosmos.