Shloka 61

Devanagari script

हिंस्राहिंस्रे मृदुक्रूरे धर्माधर्माव् ऋतानृते तद्भाविताः प्रपद्यन्ते तस्मात् तत् तस्य रोचते

Transliteration

hiṃsrāhiṃsre mṛdukrūre dharmādharmāv ṛtānṛte tadbhāvitāḥ prapadyante tasmāt tat tasya rocate

Translation

హింసా గానీ అహింసా గానీ, మృదుత్వం గానీ క్రూరత్వం గానీ, ధర్మం గానీ అధర్మం గానీ, సత్యం గానీ అసత్యం గానీ—అంతరంగం ఏ భావంతో రూపుదిద్దుకుంటే జీవులు అదే భావానికి చేరుతారు; అందుకే తమ స్వభావానుకూలమైనదే వారికి ఇష్టం అవుతుంది।

Word by Word

• हिंस्रे: in the violent (state/thing)
• हिंस्रे: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हिंस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Locative singular neuter used adjectivally)

• अहिंस्रे: in the non-violent (state/thing)
• अहिंस्रे: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अहिंस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Locative singular neuter used adjectivally)

• मृदु: in the gentle
• मृदु: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृदु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Locative singular neuter used adjectivally)

• क्रूरे: in the cruel
• क्रूरे: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Locative singular neuter used adjectivally)

• धर्मौ: dharma (righteousness)
• धर्मौ: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), द्विवचन (Nominative dual)

• अधर्मौ: adharma (unrighteousness)
• अधर्मौ: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), द्विवचन (Nominative dual)

• ऋते: in truth/order (ṛta)
• ऋते: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7/सप्तमी), एकवचन (Locative singular)

• अनृते: in untruth/falsehood
• अनृते: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7/सप्तमी), एकवचन (Locative singular)

• तद्भाविताः: those conditioned/imbued by that
• तद्भाविताः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + भावित (कृदन्त; √भू/√भाव्, क्त)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिवत् विशेषणप्रयोगः; पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) (Those influenced/imbued by that)

• प्रपद्यन्ते: resort (to), attain
• प्रपद्यन्ते: क्रिया (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √पद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (they resort/attain)

• तस्मात्: therefore; from that
• तस्मात्: अपादान (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (5/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (Ablative singular: therefore/from that)

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

• तस्य: of him/its
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (Genitive singular)

• रोचते: is pleasing; pleases
• रोचते: क्रिया (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √रुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (it pleases/appears pleasing)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How beings come to prefer dharma/adharma and other contrary dispositions based on inner formation (bhāvanā/saṃskāra).

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Beings gravitate toward violence/non-violence, dharma/adharma, truth/falsehood according to the inner dispositions formed by prior conditioning, and thus they find pleasing what matches their saṃskāra.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate sattvic habits (truthfulness, compassion, restraint) through repeated practice so that dharma becomes naturally pleasing.

Vishishtadvaita: Moral agency operates within a divinely ordered world where jīvas accrue dispositions (saṃskāras) and are guided toward right alignment through disciplined choice.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Characters & Entities

• Beings (jīvas)
• Dharma
• Adharma
• Ṛta (cosmic order)
• Anṛta (falsehood)

FAQs

What is the significance of ṛta and anṛta in this Vishnu Purana verse?

The verse frames truth (ṛta) as alignment with cosmic order and falsehood (anṛta) as deviation; beings tend to choose whichever they have habitually internalized.

How does Sage Parāśara explain why people prefer dharma or adharma?

He explains it through conditioning: a person becomes “imbued” with a pattern through repeated choices and then naturally finds that same pattern agreeable.

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

Implicitly, Vishnu stands as the sustaining order behind dharma and ṛta; the verse highlights how far beings align with or drift from that sustaining cosmic harmony through cultivated disposition.