Shloka 34

नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्

Devanagari script

स्थावराः कृमयो ऽब्जाश् च पक्षिणः पशवो नराः धार्मिकास् त्रिदशास् तद्वन् मोक्षिणश् च यथाक्रमम्

Transliteration

sthāvarāḥ kṛmayo 'bjāś ca pakṣiṇaḥ paśavo narāḥ dhārmikās tridaśās tadvan mokṣiṇaś ca yathākramam

Translation

క్రమంగా ముందుగా స్థావరాలు, తరువాత కృములు మరియు జలజాలు; ఆపై పక్షులు, పశువులు, మనుష్యులు. వీటికి మించి ధార్మికులు, తరువాత దేవతలు; అలాగే అదే క్రమంలో మోక్షులు—ప్రతి స్థితి తగిన మెట్టుగా పైకి ఎగసుతుంది।

Word by Word

• स्थावराः: immobile beings (plants etc.)
• स्थावराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थावर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• कृमयः: worms
• कृमयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• अब्जाः: water-born beings
• अब्जाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अब्ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अब्ज = अप् + ज (समास-निष्पन्न प्रातिपदिक, 'water-born')

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पक्षिणः: birds
• पक्षिणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्षिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• पशवः: animals
• पशवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पशु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• नराः: humans
• नराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• धार्मिकाः: righteous persons
• धार्मिकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धार्मिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• त्रिदशाः: the gods (thirty)
• त्रिदशाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिदश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—त्रयः दश (त्रिदश) इति द्विगुः (देवाः)

• तद्वत्: likewise
• तद्वत्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय/तद्धितान्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानार्थक (meaning 'likewise')

• मोक्षिणः: those who attain liberation
• मोक्षिणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्षिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; मोक्षिन् = मोक्ष-इन् (तद्धित/कृदन्त-निष्पन्न प्रातिपदिक, 'one who attains liberation')

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• यथाक्रमम्: in due order, successively
• यथाक्रमम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा + क्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; समासः—यथा (अव्यय) + क्रमम् → यथाक्रमम् (अव्ययीभावः), क्रियाविशेषणम्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Gradation of embodied states from immobile life up to liberation

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: systematic

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Existence unfolds in a graded hierarchy of embodiments culminating beyond merit and deva-status in mokṣa, indicating liberation as the highest telos.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Cultivate sattva through ethical living and devotion, while remembering that even ‘higher births’ are steps, not the final goal—aim for mokṣa.

Vishishtadvaita: Mokṣa surpasses all created gradations; the liberated state is realized by the jīva in relation to the Supreme (not identity without distinction).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Devas (Tridaśa)
• Mokṣa (Liberation)

FAQs

What is the significance of the hierarchy of beings in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents a graded order of embodiment—from immobile life up through humans, the righteous, and the gods—showing a moral-cosmic ladder where higher births correspond to higher refinement of consciousness and karma.

How does Sage Parāśara explain progression toward moksha here?

He frames liberation as part of an ordered ascent: life progresses through forms, humans cultivate dharma, and the purified being moves toward divine status and ultimately moksha—attained by transcending bondage rather than merely changing birth.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context?

Though not named in the verse, the teaching assumes a Vishnu-centered cosmic order where all gradations of life and the possibility of moksha exist within the Supreme Lord’s governance, aligning liberation with the highest reality upheld by Vishnu.