Shloka 31

Adhyaya 4 — Jaimini Meets the Dharmapakshis: Four Doubts on the Mahabharata and the Opening of Narayana Doctrine

Sanskrit

कस्मान्मानुषतां प्राप्तो निर्गुणोऽपि जनार्दनः ।

वासुदेवोऽखिलाधारः सर्वकारणकारणम् ॥

Transliteration

kasmān mānuṣatāṃ prāpto nirguṇo ’pi janārdanaḥ | vāsudevo ’khilādhāraḥ sarvakāraṇakāraṇam ||

Translation

గుణాతీతుడైన జనార్దనుడు ఎందుకు మానవస్థితిని ఆశ్రయించాడు? సమస్తాధారుడైన వాసుదేవుడే సమస్త కారణాలకు కారణము.

Word by Word

• कस्मात्: why/from what cause
• कस्मात्: Hetu (हेतु/Reason)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ablative interrogative used adverbially; ‘from what cause/why’ (कस्मात् इति हेत्वर्थे)

• मानुषताम्: human state
• मानुषताम्: Karma (कर्म/Object/Goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानुषता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; state of being human

• प्राप्तः: has attained
• प्राप्तः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘having attained/come to’

• निर्गुणः: without qualities
• निर्गुणः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्/निर्-पूर्वक तत्पुरुष (गुणैः रहितः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; जनार्दनः इति विशेषण

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (concessive/emphatic particle)

• जनार्दनः: Janārdana (Viṣṇu)
• जनार्दनः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनार्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (जनान् अर्दयति/पीडयति इति); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वासुदेवः: Vāsudeva
• वासुदेवः: Karta (कर्ता/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासुदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (वसुदेवस्य अपत्यं/सम्बन्धी); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; जनार्दनस्य नाम

• अखिलाधारः: support of all
• अखिलाधारः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अखिल + आधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (अखिलस्य आधारः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; वासुदेवस्य विशेषण

• सर्वकारणकारणम्: cause of all causes
• सर्वकारणकारणम्: Karta (कर्ता/Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + कारण + कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/समासार्थः: ‘सर्वेषां कारणानां कारणम्’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; वासुदेवस्य विशेषण

Speakers

• Not specified in input (occurs in the early dialogue portion; speaker likely a questioner addressing the narrator/teacher figure)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Vāsudeva
• Janārdana (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa)

Key Themes

• Vaishnava theology
• Avatara doctrine
• Nirguṇa–saguṇa discourse
• Cosmology (causality)
• Philosophical inquiry

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse frames a key theological problem: how the transcendent (nirguṇa) Lord can ‘enter’ human embodiment. The implied lesson is that divine descent is not compelled by karma or limitation; rather, it is a deliberate act for cosmic order—protection of dharma, grace to devotees, and rebalancing the world—while the Lord remains the ultimate ground of being (‘support of all’).

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Primarily aligns with Vaṃśānucarita/Carita (accounts of divine/personage deeds) through avatāra-theology, and secondarily with Sarga (cosmological causality) via the assertion ‘cause of all causes,’ which expresses the metaphysical source behind creation.

What is the esoteric significance?

Esoterically, ‘nirguṇa yet appearing as human’ points to the paradox of transcendence and immanence: the Absolute remains unchanged while manifesting within name-and-form. ‘Akhilādhāra’ suggests the inner Self (antarātman) as the hidden support of all experiences; ‘sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam’ indicates that behind all secondary causes stands a single supreme causal reality, accessible through discernment (viveka) and devotion (bhakti).