Shloka 10

सोमचक्रः, ग्रह-रथाः, ध्रुवबन्धनं, शिशुमारसंनिवेशः, विष्णु-सर्वात्मकता

Moon, Planets, Dhruva-Tethering, Śiśumāra, and Vishnu as All

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

छिनत्ति वीरुधो यस्तु वीरुत्संस्थे निशाकरे । पत्रं वा पातयत्येकं ब्रह्महत्यां स विन्दति ॥

Word by Word

छिनत्तिcuts

वीरुधःplants; creepers

यःwho

तुindeed; but

वीरुत्-संस्थेwhen (the moon) is situated in plants

निशाकरेin the moon (night-maker)

पत्रम्a leaf

वाor

पातयतिmakes fall; drops

एकम्one

ब्रह्महत्याम्the sin of brahmin-slaying

सःhe

विन्दतिincurs; obtains

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

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.