Shloka 40

Devanagari script

महोत्सवम् इवासाद्य पुत्राननविलोकनम् युवेव वसुदेवो ऽभूद् विहायाभ्यागतां जराम्

Transliteration

mahotsavam ivāsādya putrānanavilokanam yuveva vasudevo 'bhūd vihāyābhyāgatāṃ jarām

Translation

महोत्सवमिवासाद्य पुत्राननविलोकनम्; युवेव वसुदेवोऽभूद् विहायाभ्यागतां जराम्।

Word by Word

• महोत्सवम्: a great festival
• महोत्सवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्सव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• इव: as if / like
• इव: Sambandha (Comparison marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• आसाद्य: having attained / having met with
• आसाद्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√सद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• पुत्र-आनन-विलोकनम्: the sight of (his) sons’ faces
• पुत्र-आनन-विलोकनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन (प्रातिपदिक) + विलोकन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'पुत्राणाम् आननानां विलोकनम्'

• युवा: a young man
• युवा: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युवन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; 'युवा' (nom. sg. of युवन्)

• इव: as if
• इव: Sambandha (Comparison marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• वसुदेवः: Vasudeva
• वसुदेवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; व्यक्तिवाचक

• अभूत्: became
• अभूत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ्-लकार (Aorist/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• विहाय: having abandoned / leaving aside
• विहाय: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√हा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• अभ्यागताम्: that had come upon (him)
• अभ्यागताम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभि-आ-√गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle)

• जराम्: old age
• जराम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: compassionate

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: By returning to Vasudeva and revealing himself, Krishna grants renewal of hope and joy to his devotees, strengthening dharma through familial restoration.

Leela: Bala

Dharma Restored: Restoration of familial and social harmony through the Lord’s auspicious presence.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Darśan of the Lord renews the devotee’s inner life, as if age and weariness fall away before divine presence.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Use regular darśan (temple, icon, japa) as a disciplined practice for inner rejuvenation amid fatigue and grief.

Vishishtadvaita: Grace operates through concrete encounter (darśan) within embodied relationships, sanctifying the world rather than negating it.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Characters & Entities

• Vasudeva
• Sons of Vasudeva (putras)
• Yadava/Vrishni household (implied narrative setting)

FAQs

What is the significance of seeing one’s sons (putrānanavilokanam) in this verse of the Vishnu Purana?

The verse treats the reunion as an auspicious, life-renewing event—so powerful that it is likened to a “great festival,” restoring Vasudeva’s vitality and dispelling the weight of age.

How does Sage Parāśara explain renewal and joy within the Krishna narrative?

Through vivid human experience: Parāśara frames Vasudeva’s renewed youth as a natural consequence of auspicious reunion, showing how dharmic happiness and divine protection in Krishna’s time re-order suffering into celebration.

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

Even when not named in the verse, the setting is Krishna’s (Vishnu’s) avatāra-era: the restoration of joy and the easing of “jarā” reflect the protective sovereignty of Vishnu, who sustains beings and turns hardship toward auspicious ends.